Dead cat, definitely no bounce

I found a dead cat this morning, or rather the dog did. I had seen a rather shapeless white thing on the ground in the middle of the small park where I was walking the dog, but it was not until I realised she was approaching said shape with very cautious interest that I thought I ought to investigate. And there was a cat looking for all the world as if it was sleeping, except that it wasn't. Dead things give off a dead vibe. I don't mean things like smelling horrible and so on, it's more a complete absence of life. Duh, you say, of course a dead thing isn't a live thing. But there is more to it than that. I've only once ever properly seen a dead person. It was someone I knew who died unexpectedly and the last time I had seen this person alive would have been no more than 48 hours before. Neither of us would have had any inkling that one of us would be dead before long, but there's no doubting it when you see it. By the way I am not a doctor and I do know that the medical profession do not go around saying: "Yep, he's dead. You've only got to look at him." But sometimes - the cat and the person I'm talking about - that's all it takes, just a look.

I made sure my dog did not interefere with the cat's body and left it where it lay. Aside from burying it myself,  I couldn't think of what else to do. The poor old puss looked forlorn in the drizzle, but I expect it will be missed sooner or later. Maybe its owner lives in one of  the houses near the park, will find their pet and take it home for a proper burial. And that's it really, a memento mori in the drizzle, in the park. That old clock is ticking for us all.