In Memory of KitKat
1991-2007

I smelled November coming in August
Neatly wrote my birthday list
A hooded sweatshirt,
A new tape,
A cat.

I was turning ten that week.
We gazed at the cornfields.
Tried to catch a glimpse
Of a lonely Amish girl's
Plain, white face.

Kittens were cuddled in a box.
It didn't take very long.
I chose the cat that looked most wild
Bobcat ears, a mischievous smile.

From that day on, I slept unsoundly.
Not a limb, not a hair could slip
Over the bed's side or between the rails.
The wild kitten, orange, brown, November,
Would attack my feet, my face,
Any appendage that hung over.

I have outlived you,
Deceitful feline.