old thing, cancerous lumps in the important parts head
spinning on the vet’s table like rabbit legs:
i have been so much more than what i am now;
i once sunk my teeth into flesh and felt nothing
but i can’t speak for the body of the bird.
denial on most sides of the vacant eyes facing
the ceiling, the lack of muscular cardiovascular activity,
the waiting on the lights to fade out, a lesson:
the decision to live belongs to you only
until something bigger decides that it doesn’t.
—Published 17th of September 2019
About Catherine Windham
Catherine Windham is a poet on the east coast who appreciates her cat, used bookstores, and borrowing t-shirts with few intentions of returning them. Her work is published in Bone & Ink and Vagabond City, among other places, and she can be found on twitter at @healingsoft.