by Deklan O’Connor (Inspired by Andrea Gibson’s “Maybe I Need You”)

I pulled a fur off my sweater and screamed
‘That is so beautiful! It could kill a man’
And he probably could
His claws are about yea big
He was born right when my other died
She was the same age as me and she is him
Seeping out of her grave in the conservation land
Of our last home together
Into the ratty home of some other mother cat
And he is her
But
Not as smart
And she would’ve been more him
Had she been given the chance
Had she not been bred from dusk till dawn
In a cage too small for her tabbied tabby fat body
Not until I got the chance to figure out if whiskers are necessary
They are
And I got to figure out if cats can feel their tails
They can
Can a fat cat run just as fast as a lean one?
Can a fat cat jump just as high as a lean one?
Yes
And he would be more her if he had been a her
Cause he’s really just not that bright
Not as bright as his fur shines white when I come home
But when I’m gone too long his fur ends up yellowed                                    She was always so dignified
And he is just so bossy
Good morning
‘Chirp chirp’
How was your day?
‘Chirp chirp’
In the middle of the night the halls got their serenade
She sat outside the lucky winner’s door
Until either the inhabitant or a sleepy neighbor lets her in
She was lonely at heart
He sleeps in the living room without a single peep
He knows he is loved
And she is him
And he is her