A brief interruption

The cat’s been sleeping contentedly in my lap, 

But suddenly I look up and notice 

The blaze of sunrise, 

 Reflected in the double panes before me, 

So I gently push him off and step outside, 

To capture that bright glory, 

Disturbing the lame and tailless raccoon 

Who’s been enjoying his morning snack 

On the deck outside my door. 

Though I’m sad to disturb the animals,

 I know they’ll be back when I return to my chair, 

And, oh, the vision before me was so worth it! 

Only moments later, all that color has now gone, 

The sky is uniformly gray, 

And the cat is once again sleeping on my lap, 

As if it never happened… 

And what (my husband would ask) 

Have you learned from this? 

(Our children threaten to engrave that question 

On his tombstone.) 

A quote hovers somewhere in my brain,

Though I can’t seem to find its source:

So fast, so short, and then so quickly gone…