a Bird's Bones Reflected in a Cat's Eye

Contributor: jacob erin-cilberto


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fickle, flaky feline
with your nine-lives
an agenda for each
the further we go
the stealthier you move
emotions perfectly protected
while mine become a cat's treat
you gobble up my heart
with one swallow
and spit me out like a hairball

while my one life
drains into the sandy litter
of what and whom you dispose
you just lick your superficial wounds

while i become a defeathered bird
flying sidewise on my broken wing
into a tailspin
falling from the gravitational pull
of your whirlpool witted
cunningly coercive
treacherous tenders.


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jacob erin-cilberto, originally from Bronx, NY, lives in Southern Illinois and teaches at two community colleges. He has been writing and publishing poetry since 1970. erin-cilberto's 13th book of poetry Intersection Blues is available from Water Forest Press, Stormville, NY.