Drawing by Lyla Loomis
Matted fur
Shredded ear
The wary look
Of managed fear
Daring nonetheless
Under fence
Into the yard
Feral and furtive
Always on guard
Hungry nonetheless
Bastard kit
Of bastard cat
Pulled from wild
Pushed from lap
Yearning nonetheless
One way forward
No way back
Guilt of living
Slip through cracks
Existing nonetheless
Gaze at window
Thousand-yard stare
Almost memory
Almost aware
Forgotten nonetheless
Everything moving
Meal or a threat
Eat or be eaten
Good as it gets
Further nonetheless
Next yard calling
Promise and peril
Crapshoot chance
Furtive and feral
The hunger never ends
• Lyla Loomis is Vern’s 16 year old daughter.