Mumbo, are You Out There
in Those Bushes?
are You alive or
are You dead?
Will The Gulls & Crows
leave You alone?
Mumbo, are You gone —
no more Mumbolette
with The Big Feet?
Hi My name
Mombo the cat. I am
a very nice cat. I
love kids.
bye-bye
Please let Mumbo go
Please let The Island go
Please let Me go
LET ME GO
What Is It
That Is The Spirit of A Cat
Who Takes So Long To Die?
Is She The Eternal Spirit
In All of Us
Striving To Be Born
Striving To Be Conceived
Striving Not To Leave This World
Yet Seeking The Wonderment
Of Endless Others?
I Stared Death In The Face
& It Was A Black & White Face
–
We don’t know what anything is anymore,
except by what it is in relation
to something else
–
The Clock Has Stopped
@ Midnight
& The Chickadee’s Crown Is Black
H-e-a-r
I Am
dressed in a white sweat shirt
My Daughter’s pyjama bottoms
H-e-a-r
I Am
drinking a cup of tea — Earl Grey
sitting in My Grandmother’s Wrought Iron Arm Chair
H-e-a-r
I Am
next to The Sliding Glass Doors
It’s Grey Out
I Have To Check
On My Black & White Cat
Our Black & White Kitty
Wants To Be Petted —
I Am Dressed In Black & Grey
having come to realize
Self Organizing Galaxy
spawned 9/11
Last Night @ 7:15
Mumbo reappeared
at Our Front Door
She spent The Night
on the floor of Hunter’s Room
on a sheep fleece
and greeted Me This Morning
when I called Her “Mumbolette”
She took 2 laps of water, no treats
and Hunter decided to give Her
a Cortisone Pill
She sat on the mat by the kitchen door
but We wouldn’t let Her Out
Even Then She Vanished
I looked all over the house
including the basement
and just now found Her
upstairs under Our Bed
I let Mumbo out This Morning
She had eaten nothing
and was sitting by the kitchen door
She sat on the deck
where I thought She might stay
the next thing I knew
She was wandering briefly
dark in The Neighbours’ Drive
She disappeared.
–
At lunchtime I heard from Hunter:
“Mumbo, where are You?”
Mumbo is camped out
on Our Black Cat Mat
in Hunter’s Room
— really The Family Room —
She had about a teaspoon
of evaporated milk
but managed to eat a few cat treats
earlier today
so maybe She’s not
on Her Last Legs
I just finished settling Mumbo
on a fish-shaped padded mat
sewn by Eliza
a long time ago —
I gave Mumbo some evaporated milk
which She took
is She stationed here
in My Hawk Kitchen
on Her Mat behind My Grandmother’s Chair?
Joanna Gilman Hyde 