Doug Roy, Yellow Cat, Cut Paper
Screen Door
bang of the screen door startles me
cats using it for target practice again
my attention span these days?
about as long as a tick on a hot rock
when I get to moving lately
I get nothing done
my cat looks down on me sadly
for badly failing a come to jesus moment
only to become a backsliding biblical scholar
there are truly things wrong with me
most of them my fault
yet I still feel sorry for myself
I have broken both thumbs, bruised countless ribs
worn out two knees and a hip
I am as agile as a concussed turtle
but I’m not that old shrew
that sits a mouse ridden lazy boy on the morning porch
or carries a pistol to the dentist or the piggly-wiggly
or just stares off searching for old groundwork
every morning fate comes creeping on cats paws
reminding me I am the old people now
that our history is only part of the page
so I will write another verse on life
as long as there is a fast-food restaurant philosopher to critic it
____________
Dan Jacoby