A Tail of Revenge

Steve Steadman

The cat melts from the fence
And under the gate.

Killer from a kitten
She pads along the path across the lawn
On silent paws.

She feels her claws
But they are hidden.
She always knows they're there.

Cats are good at waiting.
She sits and waits.

Almost absently, she leaps upon a moth,
Cracks it open in a single bite,
Watches it flutter brokenly.
Again she waits.

The cat remembers.
She remembers a man
She chose when she was alive.

A window opens
She sees her opportunity, leaps twice;
Once onto the window ledge,
Once through the open window
Into the bathroom.

The door is slightly open. Drunken laughter.

One year ago to the day
The man she loves was drunk.
He told a drunken joke.
"How do you make a cat go 'woof'?
Pour petrol over it and set it alight!"

This happened.

The cat still feels the searing pain and -
Who can tell what's worse? -
Betrayal.

The cat is a naked blade of anger
Sheathed in fur.
But yet she longs for him.

Wait. Wait.
One by one, the guests leave.
The drunken man, the man she loves,
Lies snoring on the sofa.

A candle burns upon the table
Near to the curtains.

The cat does not need her claws.
Slowly, she reaches out
And gently tips.

She disappears, and waits.

by Steve Steadman