her name was cinders

By purr_verse

Tiny feline explosion
in your haphazard ebon coat,
yellow fire-eyes gleaming
with the spirit of the young;

you hardly seem to notice
the steel bars on your cage.

Six weeks old and too small
to back up the playthreats you offer
with a hiss more like a breath
and a sideways leap of challenge,
you are for a moment
the kittenqueen of the jungle;

or you would be
if nature was beneath your paws
instead of plastic.

The pound is no place for a panther,
even a domestic one
of no determined pedigree.

You always greet the staff with a purr
and a rub
and a joyous love of dinnertime,
and you greet the vet the same way;

but he does not bring you dinner.
he cannot find you a new home.
he carries you to the surgery
gently
and brings you narcotic foreversleep
through a needle almost as long as
your undersized leg.


Nothing is as still
as a dead kitten


and the distant hum of the incinerator
roars tonight.


Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
Copyright 2005 Natalie Lyndon
Published on Sunday, June 19, 2005.     Filed under: "Poetry"
Log In or Join (free) to see the special features here.

Comments on "her name was cinders"

Log in to post comments.
  • A former member wrote: "Nothing is as still as a dead kitten" Powerful (Still); heartbreaking, beautiful...

  • flying_fox On Wednesday, May 31, 2006, flying_fox (573)By person wrote:

    just read this again and again it has brought me undone. magical words bringing most beautiful images so that the pain which follows takes my breath away...

  • mozarts cat On Wednesday, March 22, 2006, mozarts cat (184)By person wrote:

    omg .. when I clicked on this I never expected this, not in a million years .. kittenqueen .. I was free-falling through the imagery *stunning*, and somewhere in the last few lines, I forgot how to fly :( .. I'm devastated ~V

  • Spiritus_Frumenti On Thursday, August 18, 2005, Spiritus_Frumenti (341)By person wrote:

    so honestly devastating...-l-

  • flying_fox On Sunday, July 31, 2005, flying_fox (573)By person wrote:

    too emotional for typing. *clutches all furchildren to her heart*

  • capt_funguy On Friday, July 22, 2005, capt_funguy (778)By person wrote:

    the machine , the devouring machine .. to just think of the joy he would have had , and been .. the scampering , the clawing , the mad half hours ... millions upon millions of unpurred tremmors -

  • capt_funguy On Friday, July 22, 2005, capt_funguy (778)By person wrote:

    i know all the logic , i know all the realities , but it's a sin all the same ... ensuring for always that there will never be enough beauty in this world ... loved this ... funguy

  • manywalks On Thursday, July 21, 2005, manywalks (750)By person wrote:

    Oh, this tears at the heart. Humane deaths my ass, superb work here, as usual.

  • PoeticHellion On Wednesday, July 20, 2005, PoeticHellion (191)By person wrote:

    Wow. That is so... sad... yet so angry. I really like it.

  • Sepulcrawl On Monday, July 18, 2005, Sepulcrawl (78)By person wrote:

    This is pretty chilly. I feel I am sometimes lost. This is really a great piece. You really do need to stop by more. Wonderful as always!

  • blue On Tuesday, July 12, 2005, blue (1454)By person wrote:

    Oh god, You had me smiling until the end lines.. damn, talk about dropping out the bottom! You've done your job here evoking emotion purr! ~b

  • A former member wrote: You have such a talent, dear. This seems destined to become a rare classic. You find a way of presenting your streaming thoughts, ideas, with such definition. Everything you write seems to evoke something within me..This piece is simply beyond compare

  • A former member wrote: "if nature was beneath your paws instead of plastic" Exquisite. Such sad beauty. I think I'll go adopt the entire pound.

  • Liz On Wednesday, June 22, 2005, Liz (267)By person wrote:

    Awww

  • Liz On Wednesday, June 22, 2005, Liz (267)By person wrote:

    "foreversleep, kittenqueen" I like the fake compound words. Adds to the cute-factor.

  • A former member wrote: aye..and this is why I do not give my foundlings to the pound..I find them new homes all on my own...it's sickening what we consider humane...

  • A former member wrote: "and brings you narcotic foreversleep through a needle..." This movement is music in words. "Nothing is as still as a dead kitten." Painfully beautiful. "if nature was beneath your paws instead of plastic." This possesses the visual echoes of Ted Hughe

  • A former member wrote: ...Ted Hughes, "When I saw little rabbits with their heads crushed on roads/I knew I rode the wheel of the galaxy." From The Scream. Your words are a creative gift in this poetic galaxy; thank you, even if this one brings tears like screams...cinders fall

  • A former member wrote: ...cinders falling. And a cinder has been born, like 'tiny feline explosion', in Mephistopheles...'yellow fire-eyes gleaming.' Even if he always greets you w/ a gurgle & a purr... I'd fav this one, but am limited (sorry).

  • A former member wrote: its thoughts like these that lead me to become the crazy cat lady (must save the kitties!) :P

  • purr_verse On Wednesday, July 6, 2005, purr_verse (1059)By person wrote:

    I could have saved this kitten, but didn't. I thought somebody else would take her for sure. 16 years ago, when I volunteer-worked at the RSPCA. That was it - I had to leave before I DID become the Crazy Cat Lady and take every cat home with me. I still t

  • purr_verse On Wednesday, July 6, 2005, purr_verse (1059)By person wrote:

    think about her. (and the staff really did name her Cinders). I came back the next week and adopted a cat, who I still have. He turns 17 in November. :)

  • A former member wrote: Unnerving. Seems like one of those things that no one would ever want to think about, let alone write. Sick and brilliant. +T.P.U+

  • Malice In Wonderland On Sunday, June 19, 2005, Malice In Wonderland (987)By person wrote:

    fuck....*searches for a cat to hold.* Scholar

  • birdwell On Sunday, June 19, 2005, birdwell (140)By person wrote:

    that has to be the most haunting thing i've ever read, i going to go hold my cat now ~db~

  • A former member wrote: Oh my this was pull no punches night it looks like. Very cut throat "he carries you to the surgery gently and brings you narcotic foreversleep" Especially dug those lines. Heh cool. -Ship

  • Solace On Sunday, June 19, 2005, Solace (1069)By person wrote:

    Harsh and unyielding...like ice...but with fire...loss is loss call it whatever name you will


How to Criticize Without Causing Offense
© 1998-2024 DarkPoetry LLC
Donate
[Join (free)]    [More Poetry]    [Get Help]    [Our Poets]    [Read Poems]    [Terms & Privacy]