From Stealing Eternity, edited by Stewart Burnett, published in 2008. This poem was first published in North Shore magazine in 2005.

‍

a rascally lab-shepherd

 and grumpy old cat

 didn’t much like each other,

 both bristled to share

 the same family,

 same house.

‍

After the fire,

 finding them:

 curled up—

 for the first time

together—

 under the upstairs rug,

‍

the cat who couldn’t

 swat death away,

 gathered into

 the dog’s clumsy paws.