Perry by Luanne Castle
I call my other cats dear heart names--
Tiger Queenie Princess Mimi
and Meeskeleh Meeskeleh Meeskerelli.
Lily Billy Peaches and Cream.
Perry is Perry.
Perry is a cartoon cat.
He’s Tom of Tom and Jerry.
My other cats look like regular cats.
Those cats hobble into old age
with arthritis and newfound
appreciation for my help.
Perry ignores all boundaries.
He carries his octopus, fish, and squid
upstairs and down, wherever we are.
He stares at the others for attention.
My other cats lie on the couch back,
the chair, the bed, or in the new box.
Perry lies tummy up in the crook
of my arm for the length of a movie.
When I’m mad at my husband I say
I’ll divorce you and marry Perry!
Perry is only lucky number seven.
The others are elderly and wise.
Perry has been imaged inside and out.
He doesn’t know what we saw,
and I can’t feel what I saw, or
I won’t be able to breathe, so I say
Perry is Perry.
“This was a love song to my favorite cat who has a bad heart and other health problems although he’s only seven. I didn’t set out to write a poem, just to show my love and grief in words. The piece might be trash, but Perry is a treasure.”
Luanne Castle (she/her) has published two award-winning full-length poetry collections and two chapbooks. Luanne’s poetry and prose have appeared in Copper Nickel, River Teeth, TAB, Verse Daily, Saranac Review, and other journals. She lives in Arizona with her five cats inside and bobcats outside. She can be found at https://www.luannecastle.com/.