My Sweet and Stubborn

I miss you, buddy.

It’s been two years,
but damn it,
I still really miss you

Every once a while,
the mere thought of you,
a brief glimpse of you,
breaks me down enough,
to reduce me to a waterfall of tears,
to a shell of the shell of myself,
to a tomato-faced, heaping mess

I miss your purrs,
your meows,
your head, belly and paws lying gently on my grateful lap,
your pickiness,
your persistence,
your unyielding desire to make your mere presence felt

You were my everything,
my rock,
my buddy,
who kept me afloat, while I was at my lowest:
mentally, physically, and professionally

I completed my Master’s,
landed a fulfilling job,
and lost a bunch of weight,
can you notice from up there?

I hope you’ve found peace,
that your pain and anguish subsided,
because if paradise is real,
you deserve to be in it,
frolicking in the grass,
devouring all the wet food you desire

Hopefully, we reunite,
sometime down the line,
sitting on my longing lap once again

Thank you for everything,
and please keep your belly warm for me,
my sweet and stubborn Coco

I love you so fucking much