Tableau
when I was six I saw
the stray cat that lived under our house
give birth and kill her kittens
short, spare minutes separating
the two acts. she cried the whole time and I
know where that cat was now
sitting in a waiting room reading
pamphlets about fetal development
adoption options and welfare programs I know
how that cat felt and wish I
would have stayed to comfort her
instead of running away.
Holly Day is a travel writing instructor living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and two children. Her most recent nonfiction books are Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, and Walking Twin Cities.