Moyra Donaldson #9 Cats and Us

Cats and Us

The last few cats,

we’ve had,
we’ve just named Cat
due to their penchant
for disappearing
during the night
and us subsequently
not wanting
to get too
emotionally invested.
Foxes, we speculate,

or else cats

just don’t like us.
Either way
it’s a bit heart-breaking
when one day they’re
not there anymore.

We’d decided no more cats

when this Cat arrived,
inherited from
our daughter
who’d moved to a flat
that wouldn’t allow cats.

This Cat and me

lay back to back in bed
on the nights before
she gave birth
and while you were
in hospital
with the stroke.
We comforted each other,
both getting used
to the idea
of a different future.