My beloved calico has turned
sixteen, over seventy in human
terms. But still I wince

when the vet lays scope
to heart, pronounces murmur.
It wasn’t there last check.

A pinprick needle confirms
her find: the heart blocked.
And so begins the slow trapeze

between life and death, swinging
as I reach to catch her.

---

Carol Barrett has published three volumes of poetry, most recently READING WIND, and one of creative nonfiction. An NEA Fellow in Poetry, Carol has lived in nine states and in England. She currently supervises creative dissertations for students at Antioch and Saybrook Universities.