(when i was young)
she would take a pair of rolled up socks from my parents' room and
bring them around with her, in her mouth.
in the dead of night- or when she thought no-one was home,
she'd set them down on the bathroom floor and meow long, sad calls
(out)into the stillness
[i wondered if she remembered her mother.]
before i was born, my uncle found a kitten outside, meowing.
as i grew, i learned more from her than anyone.
(i am now older than she ever was,
which had seemed impossible at the time. she had always seemed
infinite.)