Just Once

When I first held you, and you cried to me

something fierce, I was too afraid to hold

you, carry you, even set you on me.

I could see how your claw strikes were quite bold.

But with you gone, now, I wish I had known

How we were both scared, and how I was wrong.

At the time with how dependent you were,

Don't jump on me, I would say, nerves shaken.

You didn't deserve the pain you went through.
Yes, that's life, and it can be really tough,
But the adventures you had then show through,
And the pain of your bite made me know enough.

But you're gone now, and I wish that just once

I could feel your claws on my hand—just once.

Dedicated to my cat, Tiger, kneading something somewhere, free of pain.