tragedy strikes

i didn’t think i would have the strength to do this.

but it is only right for you all to know sooner rather than later.  it is with a heavy head and a hollow void in my heart, that i share the tragic news that cling has died.

he was found at approximately 6:42pm on monday, october 10th, strung out in front of my woodstove, head still raised, but left arm completely missing, and a trail of blood leading across the handmade tile towards the wall.  it seems that while i was away in the studio, he snuck out for some exploring, and was taken advantage of by the cruel, ugly hair-tufted roadrunner who hangs around my porch.  i wish i could blame it on the cats, but it seems a deed too cold-blooded and merciless, and performed too exquisitely, even for a feline.

aside from losing my best friend and long-toed desert companion, at the merest beginning of our treasured time together, the hardest part is imagining poor cling, on the verge of death, slowly dragging himself with every last ounce of energy, back into the cabin to find me.

it takes me back to the day at the dentist’s office in fourth grade, when we got a call that my pet rabbit, bunbun (or samantha, it’s unclear why i named her this as well), had fallen through the bottom of her cage, broken all her bones or been killed by another animal, and slinked her way, dying, onto our stone walkway, where she finally collapsed.

well... the desert is an unforgiving place.  and as steve always likes to say (to justify leaving his metal surfaces dangerously pointy), “nature has a sharp beak”.

cling, i will never forget you.

 

we had a proper burial after sunrise this morning, complete with the only 2 wildflowers i could find in a 0.5 mile radius.  thanks to mr. adam ezra olshansky, a special song was written, recorded, and sent via iphone, to be played for cling as he laid to sleep in the sandy ground he loved so dearly.

in case anyone would like a copy, feel free to let me know.

ode to cling 

cling, cling, you cute little thing

somebody killed you and bit off your wing

cling, cling, to you now i sing

i hope that a flower grows from you this spring.