Little Kitty
eats almost all
of Big Kitty’s food
before I have a chance
to fill and put down her own plate
which I always do first
and not with my back turned
to the two of them
except for this morning
when I forgot.
Big Kitty
sits there staring at me
while the piracy
is taking place.
I always cringe
when my soft brain fails me,
ashamed of what I see as
my cruelty,
intended or not.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,”
I say as I put Little Kitty’s
plate full of her preferred
mush before Big Kitty,
which she tucks into
as if nothing much
has happened.
I feel
more upset than is warranted,
I guess. My forgetfulness,
more and more common these days,
leads to these small harms
no one much cares about,
but I gather them and
hoard them in secret places
until I am rich with self-blame.
The cats make do.
I make mistakes, then coffee.
Mistakes
before coffee,
no one as bothered
by my failures as I am,
and me piling up words
about all of it:
a pirate stealing meaning
from a sinking ship.
Dark Matter 
September 4th, 2021 at 8:37 pm
Forgetfulness seems more common these days amongst people I know, myself sometimes included. I think it is exacerbated by covid stress and preoccupation. I did read, recently, that forgetfulness is not necessarily a sign of approaching age or dementia but often of intelligence; the brain makes room for new and important material by discarding other things. (Think: the absent-minded professor.) There is much of importance to think about these days. Well, food for thought, anyway. Otherwise, I like the poem – especially coffee, mistakes, and piracy – and I feel sorry for big kitty being bullied by little kitty. Have a happy weekend!
September 5th, 2021 at 7:22 am
Thank you, and I quite agree. Especially about the intelligence part, lol!
Honestly, I do have an organic issue I won’t go into detail about here that is a direct cause of some memory lapses. It’s not likely to get worse, fortunately, but I have been living with it for a while.
September 4th, 2021 at 7:34 am
Living in a two-cat house, I can relate. Other levels are visible in my mirror. This is excellent and would be reblogged if I were still blogging.
September 4th, 2021 at 9:38 am
Thank you.