opens by derek lessard

such a thing,
seeing kitten families
acting out a skit
of tailpounces
amidst a playground
of rejected mattresses
and dumpster refuse,
a play on garbage
in the dark.
they,
so vibrant,
warm-
so colorful,
a kind of calico
you'd die among,
so young.
and I, here.
clewed into ball,
under spotlight, cold.
alone.
an old man,
senescent-
falling in the sleep
held by his
own arms