Distracted
After locking
the door
I remembered
the cat
the telephone
started ringing
&
the cat
wouldn’t accept
my
apologies
through the triple-
bolted
door
was
in
a
bad
mood
(worse
than
usual)
when I
finally broke
the last
chain
off
the latch
&
his bad mood
was somehow
connected
with
the rain
now
coming
down
hard
&
cold
(I hadn’t
noticed it
on the slippery
drive home)
the telephone
was still ringing
& when
I bent
to pick
it up
it hissed
& I said
“hello? hello?”
into
the cat’s
pink ear
the rain
was brushing
its fur
against the windows
& I locked
the rain
in the kitchen
& fetched
the telephone
a saucer
of milk
while the cat
sorted the mail
& the house
went slowly dark
until
rain
cat
&
Telephone
cried together
in unhappy chorus
“did
you
forget
to
pay
the
light
bill
again?”