Trash Cat
by
A twisted zipper backbone;
bottle top bones linked
by chewing gum tendons,
elastic stretching to the rim of the yard;
newspapers worn to a velvet nap;
syringe points as clattering claws.
Trash cat born of shadows
yowling as it views a world
beyond its rag-tag flesh;
until its uncrushed cigarette heart
smoulders to the filter.
All the moments of its life burning
to fading blindness and collapse.
Then the wind stirs the garbage,
and a worn woman throws another cigarette.
© 2011 Deborah Walker. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission of the author.

