On the Death of Petal - Revised

The sun so warm, a gentle breeze, 
A thrush on high repeats its song;
And in the garden, I rest and doze,
Upon my lap so often she lay.

A whisper; I start and turn my head,
Across the grass where once she lay;
A leaf, I see, gently wafting,
Like life itself, a fleeting shadow.

Memories sweet touch me now,
A loving presence, a gentle look;
Fur so soft, a silky touch,
Beneath the tree asleep she lies.

Grief returns....... I turn away.
Is mem'ry but a passing dream?
So what is memory? Why so fleeting?
Catching the soul when time has passed.

The future’s to come, the now is here, 
I know the past is not to stay;
The sun so warm, a gentle breeze 
And in the garden, I rest and doze,


I wrote this poem on the death of a much-loved Persian cat in 2012.  The death of another much loved cat, belonging to a close relative, prompted me to rewrite the original.  It is very different - you can compare both, the original was posted in 2012.