Peppy

The day they elected

A new leader for the free world

was the day you died.

I never did get to read the news that day.

I hadn’t spoken to him in a month

Then there he was,

Lighting up my phone at 7am.

No good can come

of calls that come that early.

He told me you couldn’t walk.

I said, ‘do you want me to come?’

Even though I was scared.

I was scared to see you.

That I wouldn’t be strong enough.

And he cried in reply.

He hadn’t cried on the day

I packed my things and left.

So I went to him.

When I got to his house

Obama’s speech played on my old TV

And you were lying on the bed,

purring

But I knew as well as he did

cats who can’t walk don’t live

I’ve never seen a cat in a wheelchair

Have you?

You hung on three days in the end

Fought the parasite in your head

But it won

On the last day,

You lay on your side

Like a goldfish flopped out from a bowl

You lay

They’d shaved patches from you

You were defeated, but loved

You had power still

In belonging to us

I was so happy we were with you

when you went.

You were the last link between he and I

The reason we still talked

Afterwards,

he went back alone to his flat

I went back alone to mine.

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