9/11 Remembered

The Names - Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night. 
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze, 
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows, 
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened, 
Then Baxter and Calabro, 
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place 
As droplets fell through the dark. 
Names printed on the ceiling of the night. 
Names slipping around a watery bend. 
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream. 
In the morning, I walked out barefoot 
Among thousands of flowers 
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears, 
And each had a name -- 
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal 
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins. 
Names written in the air 
And stitched into the cloth of the day. 
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox. 
Monogram on a torn shirt, 
I see you spelled out on storefront windows 
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city. 
I say the syllables as I turn a corner -- 
Kelly and Lee, 
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor. 
When I peer into the woods, 
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden 
As in a puzzle concocted for children. 
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash, 
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton, 
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple. 
Names written in the pale sky. 
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings. 
Names silent in stone 
Or cried out behind a door. 
Names blown over the earth and out to sea. 
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows. 
A boy on a lake lifts his oars. 
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle, 
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds -- 
Vanacore and Wallace, 
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound) 
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z. 
Names etched on the head of a pin. 
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel. 
A blue name needled into the skin. 
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers, 
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son. 
Alphabet of names in a green field. 
Names in the small tracks of birds. 
Names lifted from a hat 
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue. 
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory. 
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart. 



Now, also an update on Merry( this morning hiding her haircut after a sip of water). I sent an email to her vet yesterday, a really responsive and caring doctor. I explained in some detail that Merry seemed the same as she did when we decided to bring her in, still not displaying her usual affect or activity level. I told her also that we have had difficulty interesting her in food, but she finally eats enough to satisfy me. Dr. Johnson wrote back this morning that she felt that probably Merry needed  some time to get over the visits and prodding. She also had done some reading on the drug she's taking for her itching issues. 14% of cats in a study displayed malaise and some weight loss in the first 8 weeks of taking the drug. We have just finished 8 weeks of a capsule everyday and have begun every other day. She thinks things will get better as her system adjusts and we can hopefully go to twice a week in three weeks. She also recommended a script for an appetite stimulant to help her show more interest in her food. We picked that up this afternoon and I have given one transdermal application, applied with gloves, as the vet said, unless you want an appetite stimulation yourself !  She is up now, out in the sun on the piazza helping me with my blip. The medication notes that one must wait 2 hours after applying the stimulant before touching the animal, so it's hands off for a few more minutes, then we'll see if she wants some dinner.

Thanks for all the concern and well wishes. She's a tiny 7.5 pound cinnamon roll, and we adore her. I'm doing better with the vet's note and a totally relaxing acupuncture treatment. I think we all will go to bed early tonight.

Thinking of our fire ravaged beautiful West Coast, it's another American nightmare.

Nineteen years ago I was waiting terrified for T to come home from her job in Boston, in a building right near the airport. Today we have a 9/11 number of Covid -19 deaths every three days or so in this totally undirected/misdirected country. It's shameful.

For the Record,
This day came in cool, damp and humid. The sun has come out now with dropping temps and humidity. It might even feel Fall-ish tomorrow

All hands wary, but relieved about our Merry.