murphy

she tells me about her cat
murphy.
long gone.
three years, four?
how we took him to the vet
to end
his sweet life.
i ask her about the radiator
in her
apartment
above the zoo bar.
if it still clanged all day
when seasons
changed.
did the elevator work?
remember how you locked
your keys inside
and it was snowing
and we had three dollars between
us to eat
and drink
on that long cold February day.