cat

October 10, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i feel as though
i may be
an outside cat —

made of strong stuff
able to digest some of the
nastiest things
willing to take a treat
but wary of any sort of trap
that may take me
and able to make friends in the wild
but also able to bolt
at a moment’s notice

and kip is an inside cat —

on a special diet
longing for the outside
but staying indoors
all the time
finding enough variety from
room to room to
content themself
daily

or maybe, we are both
indoor/outdoor
and each have our own relationship
with what we have
and what we could achieve

or something…

October 4, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

who would have guessed
i’d become such a dog person:
entering a house and immediately being picked
by the big lab-pit mix
as the one who’d pay the most attention to him
[and him being exactly right]
as i’d kneel down for his face licks
and let him roll around in my lap
as i pet his belly
and squish his puppy face
and pull him around the kitchen
at the end of a tug toy rope
and always answer the call
of more pets
more belly rubs
more playtime
more attention
throughout the evening —
the adults standing and talking
the kids sitting and being entertained
and me and the puppy
rolling around on the floor
content as can be

i should have known from that first rain storm
and how much my heart was still in love with Louka
even as she smelled like wet wet dog
that i was an absolute goner
for the whole canine race

[i adore all animals, but dogs are something special]

~~~

not to be that person
but i can’t let a poem go
about loving animals
without bringing up my first love:
cats

cats of all kinds and colors
cats of all breeds and demeanors
i love the cats who hiss and snarl
and i love the cats who cuddle and curl
and i love the standoffish cats
who give you the time of day for one (1) pet
and then you may never see them again
and i love the needy cats
and the house cats
and the outside cats
and the stray cats
and the cats who act like dogs
and the cats who scream for food at 5 am
and the cats who play nonstop
and the cats who find the best sunspots and just sleep —
they are all great
and i love them all
with all of my heart

[along with all dogs, and all animals, as established in my previous poem]

~~~

it’s very silly to have competing poems
for dogs
vs
for cats
because i’ve spent my whole life loving the ‘underdog’
[which, ironically, is usually cats]
but i can
love them both equally
along with all animals
because i am that person
i am that Wild Magic character
who needs at least two animals around her
in order to sleep a good sleep at night

i wish i could call wild creatures to my bed
and cuddle with deer and raccoons and buffalo and echidnas all
but i am just as happy
having one cat and one puppy
in my bed with me
half on top of me
i really don’t sleep great
unless there is some kind of creature, be it feline, canine
or kip
and definitely the best sleep is with all three

i am an animal person
an animal lover
a lover of all creatures
even creepy crawly ones
even the spiders i’m so terrified of
i still see their reason for being
i wish i could deal with them being in the house
[and some of them, i can
some of them i can]

honestly
and truly
the only species of animals i’m not
1,000% on board with

are humans…

[and even then, half my life is spent
trying to make sure the humans i know and love
are feeling seen and heard and listened to and loved,
so damn, i really do love all this planet’s creatures…

and other planets’…?
i just haven’t met yet!]

June 14, 2026

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i feel like i’m coasting
sliding around in
almost-depression-land
and i can’t tell what’s
keeping me relatively afloat —
is it having theatre again?
is it my kip? my cat? my dog?
is it my brain chemistry/hormone levels finally calming and settling?
is it the summer heat?
or the summer sunlight?
is it the medication whose only job is to keep the depression from overtaking me?
is it some combination of all of these?

but it’s so strange to feel
the slippery sliding that usually means
an approach to a worse and worse time
but then feeling overall mildly okay

February 19, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

trying to coax
the cat downstairs
to get her med
so she can go through life
sans digestive strain and pain
and yet
she’s a cat
and doesn’t understand
the cause and effect
[or even the daily proven math
of ‘you don’t get your breakfast
until we force this gross liquid
into your mouth’]
so she whines
and complains
and won’t let us catch her
[it’s a silly game of cat and mouse
when the cat is the mouse
and the humans take on
the feline part
but it’s all for good
we swear
we keep telling her
it’s all
for your own
good…]

[if only cats understood complex concepts and the english language
then maybe this daily morning process
wouldn’t be so much of a
hassle]

January 26, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

trying to write poetry
as our guest cat rubs his face
all over my hands
and arms
and laptop
and screams for attention
and pines for the outside
i know he does not miss

he is clearly far more at home
in a lap
than in the snow

we named him Tab
because he seems intrigued by Computer
and we can always pretend
it’s because he’s a tabby cat

and i love him so much
but i’ll be happy
to have my own cat love me again
when we no longer have a guest feline
interrupting our day to day

but i could not could not could not leave him
outside in the negative lows
and two feet of forecasted snow
so
i let him walk into our house
and our lives
and he is so sweet
and so loving
and so nice

[and even kip is smitten]

but, like any good cat, he also hassles a fair bit,
and though i’ll miss his antics
and jumps
and hundred different meows
all made using his
whole entire face,
he’s gotta get fixed
and maybe find a home
somewhere far away from
the outside that he knows —
thank goodness for friends
with shelters
they help run

November 25, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

we are good kips
who do our things
that we set out to do
in the mornings

me with my poetry
kip with their programming
puppies with their naps
and cats with their…whatever cats do in the early hours

November 20, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

evening poems
while william shatner
tells me all the unexplained mysteries
i should care about

but i simply
don’t

~~~

big yawns
and split-up sleep
and hopefully getting
the cat to eat
or take her meds
at least

[almost done with this trip
and i’m so excited to sleep
in my own bed
once again]

~~~

but seeing people has been absolutely lovely —
i wouldn’t exchange that
for anything

[even eight uninterrupted hours]

November 18, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

what a nightmare
of a night
what with screaming cats
and whining puppies
and keeping us up all night
[especially when we were both so excited
to go to sleep so early
and sleep in just a bit]
but
but
but
however
i’d rather have these animals
and have them interrupt our sleeps
with their hassles
than not have them at all
and that’s the truth

[damn, love is crazy]

November 4, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

ghost cat?
in and out of the office
in front of kip
and as kip blinks, she’s gone
and they ask “where’s the cat?”
to which i answer
“in here, as she’s been for the last [at least] ten minutes,
lying on top of my shoes
on top of my suitcase
purring
and half napping
and fully enjoying her time”

ghost cat
definitely
[but which cat are we
feeding?]