the day we learned our cat was lactose intolerant.

I'd woken up several times through the night,

then finally at 5:30 with a dull headache.

I was turning 42, which felt like a Tuesday,

a half-full cup off coffee and a day of work.

We waited for it to rain.

Clouds came and went, then came back again,

but thunderstorms refused to materialize.

Our black cat slept exhausted on the humid porch

having evacuated his bowels repeatedly.