Boo
by Mather Schneider
I remember when you put in that cat door
for Boo.
It was funny to watch him sniff it
and jump when we messed
with the rubber flap.
Finally he just nosed out
and you praised him in that baby voice
until I wanted to slap you.
We never thought it could work both ways
but a stray cat came in one day
while we were at work
and had kittens in the closet.
She was completely feral
and when the kittens were old enough to give away
I had to corner her
with a blanket
and I can say with honesty
I’ve seen a cat climb plaster walls.
We took them all out to a farm you knew of.
And then after we broke up
Boo disappeared
from the sidewalk right outside your window
and you finally just
moved away.
Everybody blamed it on a coyote or an owl
but people are stupid when it comes to blame.
Mather Schneider is a 40-year-old odd-jobber living in Tucson with a Mexican girl. He has
a book of poetry coming out from Interior Noise Press.
Visit his blog at matherschneider.blogspot.com.