Mowgli

February 9, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

it’s destroying me
this whole “don’t touch the animals” track
we’ve been on lately

i am a puppy croodler
a cat lap person
a snuggler and kisser of all animals around me
[so long as they let me]
and petting them
brings me
such joy

but with the swelling
and the red eyes
and the misery that benadryl barely breaks up at night
i suppose not touching the animals
because i am
*technically*
allergic
is a smart move

[but the misery could also be alleviated
with a soft and floofy cuddle…]

[damn body
attacking me
for one of the few good things in my life]

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 23, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i wish we had more windows in our house
that were accessible to the animals as they are
so they could gaze out
at the outside world
and be entertained
from the comfort and safety of our own home

[but the cat has the upstairs window
accessible from a hop onto a litter box
and a jump onto a dresser
and, of course, a skip through the curtains]
[and the dog has the downstairs window
accessible from the couch she probably shouldn’t jump on
or the other downstairs window
accessible from a lap
she definitely shouldn’t jump on]
[so i suppose all can be/is well]

November 20, 2025

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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

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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?]

October 20, 2025

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less
meds
for this cat—
you’d think that would make her
more likely to accept
the singular med
once a day
we have now

but no

instead she has run from me
every chance she’s gotten
this morning

let’s see if in this moment i can
trick her into letting me
catch
her…

success!

August 19, 2025

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this poor poor puppy

from the street
to a home where
she tore both acl’s
needed surgeries
got nausea and scabs
and bumps all over
[not to mention at least one leg broken]

and finally, when she wasn’t the one giving us
veterinary grief

the cat goes and develops
hyperthyroidism
and irritable bowel disease

and then

as the cat calms down
from all her puking and med-strategizing

the puppy, once again, has a sore on her paw
which she licks and licks
and ends up in a cone
with antibiotics
and steroids
and somehow swollen ears

and we think we get all that under control

and here come the obsessive paw-licks again

i’m sorry, Computer, but you’re going to need to be
in a cone once more,
at least while we’re gone for the day

poor poor poor poor puppy.