We have begun to count off the days like beads
Unsure when the thread will snap
Scattering your precious moments.

Today they told us how you will slowly choke
Your breath cut off from inside
How your heart and lungs are being squeezed aside
And how there's nothing they can do.

So we have begun to count off the days, but I,
I count from the beginning, from the days of kittenhood.
You and your brother Boris scaling the Christmas tree
Swatting the bright baubles, watching them fall and shatter.
Coming home on the bus, you in a basket on my lap,
Widdling on me, in revenge for the visit to the vet.
But we are coming to the end.
The seasons will ring out too few changes
Before your year ends.

So we are counting out each fragile day
Until the light fades and the darkness comes.