SICK CAT
Jane Virgo ©
I am thin
now scrawny hunched
bow backed thin
as a Waif
With eyes green clear saucers
Hair all snaggled and bedraggled
Voice so small
smaller than my
thin neck.
I am thin
and wrung out
juiced
and flat against
the cement floor
in the sucking
summer heat
My lovely bones
all proud and nobbled
obscene
back ridged like tombstones
from some horrid war
small, crawling into myself
licking salt.
***
MITZIE
(Died 24/12/2002)
Jane Virgo ©
She was mine
Little scribble nose
Mitzie-Kitzie
the sweetest little girl
who never grew up
She loved me
Even more than I loved her
She was kind
and incredibly gentle
Little claws that stroked my hair
Little tail that bristled like it was wet
Smart enough to open door handles
Smart enough to know we are trying to help
I had her for so long
My son chose her
My husband was mad
because she was too cute
and she would always find a home
She didn’t need him to rescue her
My loving Mitzie
Sweet little lady
It feels wrong
for my life to have a small grey
hole in it.
Little girl
Sorry for every time
I pushed you away
when your claws
were too sharp
or I needed sleep
Sorry.
You were easy to love
I’ll buy
a hairclip
to wear in honour
of your loving claws
I need a memorial.
