MAD CAT, by D. C. MacLean

After Nemo the psycho cat disappeared
There was no one left to murder the birds
Neither the weeds nor the moss
Sci Fi worlds becoming real in our backyard

Remembering the small monster on the roof of the shed
Her howling angry and sublime, circling the earth
But Nemo decided death and madness could wait
And padded down from from the moss

Again choosing the glory of owning a family
You could terrorize with small claws
Feral forgivenesses written in the scratches
Steady blood flowing in underground rivers

Incontinent and cancerous she sat like stone
In front of my wife’s car, daring her to drive
Our Ford no match for Nemo’s mad cat eyes
This tiny lion becoming a ghost the next red day

Her soft feet disappearing into time

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?
It's a story. True. Nemo was our cat, a feral kitten rescued from a garage. She was straight up 'herself', tame but wild all her life, and that would be the theme right there.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?
I write. I'm lazy but I still get to things. Often stories won't leave you alone until you take them on.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?
A long time. Since I was fourteen.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would
that be?
My wife. My kids (that's two people).

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a
professional actor?
Honestly, the opportunity was there.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?
I write plays, and my screenplay, Any Child, was selected for the L.A. International Screenplay Awards. And yes, short stories.

7) What is your passion in life?
Well, it's not neat and hard to wrap up in a few words. Let's say, we put ourselves into stories and that's our gift.
1) What is the theme of your poem?
It's a story. True. Nemo was our cat, a feral kitten rescued from a garage. She was straight up 'herself', tame but wild all her life, and that would be the theme right there.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?
I write. I'm lazy but I still get to things. Often stories won't leave you alone until you take them on.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?
A long time. Since I was fourteen.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would
that be?
My wife. My kids (that's two people).

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a
professional actor?
Honestly, the opportunity was there.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?
I write plays, and my screenplay, Any Child, was selected for the L.A. International Screenplay Awards. And yes, short stories.

7) What is your passion in life?
Well, it's not neat and hard to wrap up in a few words. Let's say, we put ourselves into stories and that's our gift.