Hobbes the cat was long lived
And long loved
Though not necessarily by me

First by Arwen
My elfin daughter
Elfin to me not because of small size
(She is close to six feet tall)
Nor even because she was conceived
Most likely
In Wales
And born
Most definitely
In England
But because I have loved The Lord of the Rings
Since I first devoured it
Too long ago to remember just when
(Middle Earth was my safe haven
Throughout an adolescence that was stormy
In the sense that a cat 5 hurricane is stormy)

So Arwen is Arwen because
I love Lord of the Rings

When Arwen was in high school
Her much loved cat
(Whose name may have been Softy
Or Stinky)
Died

Her volleyball teammates scoured the winter countryside
Until they found a cat that had kittens 
Out of season
And surprised Arwen 
– and me – 
with a gray tabby kitten
She named Hobbes

Two short years later
Arwen left for university

Hobbes lived another 20 years
and became my husband’s cat
while I gave my heart to our big dog
whom our boys had named Vanity
thinking Vanity meant beautiful

Hobbes loved to sleep on Gordon’s chest
And sometimes even on his head
Which bothered Gordon not at all
But drove me crazy

Vanity died
My husband died

When Gordon was in palliative care
My sister came from New Orleans
And slept in our bed
Until she was startled awake
By what she described as 
A gray mountain lion
Pouncing on her chest

Hobbes lived on
Moving twice with me

Joined eventually
By Sugar and Spice
My beautiful big mutts
Sugar like a yellow lab
Spice like a cinnamon shepherd
Litter mates
Found
In a North Carolina town garbage dump
Flea ridden puppies
Foraging for themselves

I made the five hour drive to make them my own
And bring them home to Hobbes
Who was unimpressed

Vanity, Sugar and Spice
I loved for themselves

Hobbes I loved with a tenderness
That had little to do with cats
And much to do with grown daughters
And deceased husbands.