Stray Cat
I told you not to let that stray in, but those Bacall blue eyes made you want to help her
—a good detective always saves the ones who don’t deserve saving.
She’d been outside for a while, ribs poked harshly through her thinning white coat. We didn’t have cat food, only Vienna sausage mushed up with a fork. She ate it all, greedy and warm.
She started on her coat, mangy with grease and grass. I could see the black jump away from her tongue, you stared at her with Bogart brown eyes, cigarette dangling from your lip.
I caught you in front of the mirror, itching at the flea welts which swelled across your cheeks, skin pink like her tongue. She sat in the sink, licking at the drip from the faucet.
She can stay, and I’ll rub Neosporin on your face before we go watch The Big Sleep.
Rachel Marsom-Richmond graduated with her M.A. from Northern Arizona University in May of 2009, and she graduated with her M.F.A. from Georgia College & State University in May of 2011. For information on Rachel Marsom-Richmond and her publications, please visit http://www.rachelm.com
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