It came to me as I sat

It came to me as I sat

Gazing at nothing

At everything

Seeing the other side of it

Once in a while

As a cat looked at me hungrily

From the fence.

‘Keep sitting there.’

I thought.

He looked intelligent

With big round eyes

Arched in surprise,

I had noticed.

I guess he thought I was ugly

I look nothing like a cat

Or much like food fit to eat

For a purebred

Bag of bones like him.

So I asked him about the sky

What he thought it meant

For it to just stay up there, where it was

And never fall down

He looked at me

‘Kinda droll.’

I thought he said

But it might have been closer to

‘Silly old fool.

It weighs nothing at all.’

I said

‘That’s all you know, fleabag

It weighs heavy on me

All day long

Back-breaking

Knees shaking

Eyes watering

Pressure pushing me down

On to my knees

One day it will pin me to the ground

And squash me flat.’

‘Yeh but that would be the drink’

He said

‘And the fact that you’re nearly dead.’

‘Oh, thanks.’ I croaked.

I almost choked.

‘You are a comfort.’

‘I’m not meant to be a comfort

I’m just a cat on a fence

Making catty remarks

To help you make sense

Of your life.’

‘How does that work again?’

‘I remind you of what a tit you can be

And that helps deflate the ego.’

I sank back down

All the air sucked out

It was all I could do

Not to take another drink

The cat didn’t blink

‘Sit on the fence

Why don’t you…’

Is all I said.

And he smiled.