grimalkin
where is that cat
that tom
who wrapped you in his tiger coat
set you groaning
hind legs cat-jacked and tail high
wild-eyed
screams as green as your eyes

that tom foolery riff-raff cat
who yodeled for you
from the back yard gate
circling round again and again
grinning
and calling you grimalkin

who hooked claws into your haunches
ruffled your back end fur
made you gather
whiskers
into frowns toothy and feverish

where is he
while you harvest pain
and drops of breathless young

and those his low-toned riddles
calling for you from under porches
closer closer
closing in
scraping on the side door screen
he sings
in raspy highway rhyme
come to me now
to me now
my dog
my dog doesn’t like old jimmy stewart movies
not on stormy nights like this one
he’d rather sleep cramped at my feet and fart
smack his lips if the dream is good
whimper when the rabbit winks and disappears
in a puff of carrot-colored smoke

he told me he didn’t care if it rained
and it rained sure enough
while jimmy stewart made out with a blond woman
i drank coffee, lit candles
worried that the love scene would be wasted
in flickering electricity

my dog woke up with a thunder clap
tossed the sleep from his head and told me
to take a lesson
stewart kills the blond in the end anyway
then he shook his head until his ears slapped
rolled over leaving a peep-hole in his blinds
twitched
went after the cat he was chasing
and just before it reached the cellar door
gulp
it melted in his mouth like a mars candy bar
and he burped a single meow