pussy cat

she lived an odd
life as the cat lady,
three apartments over.
she almost never spoke
and when she did, it
was calm and so quiet
you had to really listen
for fear of losing the entire
conversation.

she lost her husband a few
years earlier and picked up
some cats to make
the loneliness bearable.
i don't think she intended to get
so many.

no one had seen her for
a few weeks
and the landlord got
worried.

there was an ambulance
and a couple of police
cars
in the driveway for
several hours.
you couldn't get out of
the complex
if you wanted to.

and they wheeled
her out with a sheet
covering her body
and she looked much
thinner than i remember.

from the doorway,
a cat cleaned its paws
and stared at
the ambulance
like it wasn't quite
full.

animal control
took the remainder of the
cats later that night
and the way they
would look at you
made you think
they hadn't eaten
in days.