The Animals 
By Melanie Gee 
 
The animals, 
they're unassuming.  
Every now and then they will hear sounds 
that remind them of her- 
feet rustling in the grass,  
the scattering of seeds,  
the scoop of pebbles into pots,  
an old familiar song wafting from a speaker, 
her car door opening and closing... 
And they come, gathering, 
but no one reaches down to touch them, 
or the hand that does, isn't her hand,  
and they get confused. 
She is missed. 
All of her is missed- 
even the subtle sounds of her.