KATS

 KATS

You were born. You lived. You died. And I found you in the alley. Black and skinny like me, you ran. But I only wanted to pet you, feel my hands rub across your pretty fur. Offer you water, as you walk slowly toward me. How long have you lived in this alley? How long have you been black and skinny ? I will care for you, learn what nurtures you, like a mother. A cardboard box, your new home. Lined with old shirts and newspapers, never read. One morning I woke to feed you, can of sardines in my right hand, fresh bowl of tap water in my left. You weren’t there. I wonder if you returned to your alley home? Where could you go, what would make you leave the home I built ? I thought we were friends.