I see you in there, Amanda,
Trapped inside that dying flesh
(Like an angel caught in a web),
Your nine lives strewn about you
Like useless canceled checks.
"Let me go," she purrs.
Don't try to hide, you prissy bitch,
Behind that crochetty calico facade
Of palsied steps and rotting gums
(Like a rat in a crumbling maze),
A claw still hooked in my heart.
"Let me go," she purrs.
Life goes on without you, Kitty,
And even after you have gone
The grass will keep on growing
And the irises will bloom and fade
(Pine siskins will dance on your grave).
Please let me go!
You leave behind an empty lap, Amanda,
And an ache beside this crackling fire
(She had a good life, they will say);
For yet a little while curl up
Within the warm lap of my heart
As I slowly let you go.