We called them Sprite and Squirt
Appropriate consumeables
And never in our wildest imaginings
Thought the owls would take one from us.
And so we grieved each in our own way as we passed
The marks that magnified the certainty of loss.
My wife with her peculiar force of personality
And I with pen and talk with her and others.
Still past the third day I could not help but
Look for Sprite in hope of resurrection
While watching number two against the dog in grief.

The night before - we talked at last, at length -
And settled on a simple fact
That Sprite had need for freedom
More than security of house,
It was freedom that defined her - gave power to her days.

The ache within us lessened
Not all are built to live within the safety of an arch
While heart needs time to heal the head at least can know
Sometimes freedom's dark dangers win,
It may not be what seems the sin
When you have to let one go.

Bill Grace

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/cat-casualty-density/