A daddy’s girl Buddhist funeral.
A lynx-point female Siamese cat
Willow was her assigned name
Truly, she was a daddy’s girl
She never learned claw control
When this girl showed her love
She’d put her paw on your arm
And immediately drew blood
Still, I let her do it. No fuss from me
Because she was my sweet girl
When I went to bed at night
She’d come and sit on my chest
I’d use both hands to caress her
And she would be in bliss, smiling
When she had enough, she settled down
And slept against me in the darkness
During the day, she’d groom me
Using her extremely rough tongue
It was difficult to bear at times
Still, I let her do it. No fuss from me
Because she was my sweet girl
Then one day she did not feel well
After many vet visits, a diagnosis
It was feline leukemia, a cancer
We tried one treatment, then the next
She was not improving, resisted her care
The fateful decision came one day
Enough was enough, for our furry girl
Our little girl purred for us no more
Except when she managed to drag herself
Into the shower of our master bathroom
To sit in the water there after we used it
We set an appointment for euthanasia
I scrambled to create a ceremony for her
To be performed at the appointed time
When the time was upon us, we cried
I opened the altar, recited the Metta Sutta
This sutta partially reads like this:
“As a mother would risk her life
to protect her child, her only child,
even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
with regard to all beings.”
The veterinary euthanized our baby Willow
Fighting back the tears, I started chanting
My voice, booming in the room, invoked them
Kwan Se Um Bosal to shower compassion on her
“Namu Kwan Se Um Bosal”
Jijang Bosal to guide her in the hereafter
“Namu Jijang Bosal”
Sogamuni Bul to lead her to enlightenment
“Namu Sogamuni Bul”
I promise to carry you, dear baby Willow
Deep in my heart for as long as I can
Willow died a few years back. I no longer spend my days crying over her, like I did just after she died. However, this poem brought back emotions and I did cry while writing it. I do miss my girl.
The quote from the Metta Sutta is from:
“Karaniya Metta Sutta: Good Will” (Sn 1.8), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.08.than.html .
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