Poem: Why Cats Stay in Abusive Relationships

Look up “poetry” in the dictionary, and the second definition is “the quickest way to lose blog traffic.”

Similarly, Google “the quickest way to lose blog traffic,” and the second listing describes “posting in the middle of a Saturday morning.”

Nonetheless, here’s another of my poems — a short one — from back in the day. Earlier this month I posted another poem from this era, Boulevard Park, Bellingham.

This week I will be blogging a post of more poems — but, as respite for you, ones not written by me but by someone with my last name.

Why Cats Stay in Abusive Relationships

Curled, head in your lap, we purr.
Shared heat in summer’s night, licking,
Scratching, licking, scratching clean you, me roughly,
You licking my wounds. A beating ache,
Just out of reach but you try, I try.
We don’t bend that way. We try.
I sleep on my other side, where I can
When I can, knowing I am loved.