By Chris Ott
GEM AND I
By Maureen Mitchell
Jem and I are like twins. We eat. We drink. We sleep. We poop. We play with bubbles, cat nip, balls of yarn and laser lights.
When Jemster entered my life, all the stars were in alignment. I am the Queen and she is the Ace of hearts. In fact, when she sits, a heart shaped image exists on her front paws.
Her brother, Ozzie, passed away last winter. Oz ruled the roost but Jem ruled the rooster.
His highness was a tuxedo cat; Jem is a calico. Mr. Oswald was as good natured as a clear blue sky. His furry survivor purrs and hisses like a bipolar human.
I’m somewhere in the middle incarcerated in this mortal coil. Consequently, I often feel stuck inside. My fur baby serves me and provides much needed companionship.
You might say I’m a crazy cat lady.
Nevertheless, I would be the first to admit it…
Since Oz crossed the proverbial rainbow, my friend Carol and I spoil our petite puss. Her secondary caregiver and I ensure that Jemster has plenty of food, H2O, litter, treats and toys. My girl scout wants for nothing.
The end.
Sharon Young’s latest crochet project
Poems by Eric Carlson
Ain’t nothin more red,
Than the mornin sunset
Except for the end of a burnt cigarette,
Slowly burnin past my fingertips,
Ashes, crashin to the floor,
Lonely dances, across the creaking boards,
My bones tattered, torn an cursed,
Scattered like a dying flower amongst the dirt,
Silent looming skies with the smilin moonlight,
Tear drops of stars cry as the sun star dies at night,
Keep ticking my friend, your poetry keeps you alive,
A broken watchful mind, can stop the hands of time,
I replay all the haunting echos,
A tune of sadness an sorrow,
Laughter an love, I try to show,
Disaster an doves and full of crows…….
————————————————————————————————————————-
I failed never learnin, damn right, You never deserved it, like Colorado gold, you were always worth it,
I was West Virginia coal, dusty an imperfect, you’re Pennsylvania pittsburgh, steel city perfect,
I’m a lonely grave for a soul who’s made so many mistakes, I lost her an threw it all away, like years of wasted paper, turned into a crumbled page,
lost an lonely, a ghostly appearance, amongst natures poetry, heartbreaking tunes, crying through the speakers, while my eyes take vision to the views,
sun against my skin, like a nighttime fire on a cold winters wind, let’s me know, I’ll see you around again.