bukowski’s cat
I’ll pick out the runt
you can always tell which one
—you just pick ‘em up by the neck
I’ll make him tough I will
kick him around a bit
make him stay out all night long
just like me
it’s not like I’ve never
had one before
haven’t kicked one out of the house
haven’t given ‘em a few bucks
and told ‘em to get lost
but this one—
there’s something different
about this one
and so you let him stay
for a little while
as long as he doesn’t cost you much
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved





