Inverted, collected
ink splashed on wood
black forest cake
with icing in the center

Your cousins parade along curbsides of banks
but in their entirety
walk cloaked in eve
you, you’re like a small clown

whisking your tale back and forth
like I did with yolks twenty minutes before
saying hello as I gave you a grin
a frequency you could appreciate

Seated, protected
by the man outside
your playground, his canvas
his laughter, your fright

*Cat No. 17 of the 500 Cats Project