The Cat, the Girl and the Gun

Alone in the house,
      she and the cat, Puff –
her sister’s cat,
      a sister a statistic of
one of the many ways
      people die,
      too soon.

She and the cat
      had mourned together
forging
      their own bond.

Alone, too,
      because her spouse
was away – serving the country,
      perhaps, saving the world.

Then the bang?? broke
      her light slumber –
not the creaking of the old house’s
      wooden structure settling
      in its own sleep,
or the thunder from the storm
      outside,
this sound was inside –
      a disturbing noise
that needed investigation.

Alone, she carried with her
      the inherited revolver,
her father’s passing gift –
      said to be one of
Doc Holliday’s guns – her
      great grandfather played
poker in Tombstone and Colorado
      in the old days
      (and often won).

Down the stairs she crept
      ready for anything –
only to find relief
      when she would discover
the mystery was but a case
      of the cat, Puff,
knocking off a vase
      from top a cabinet.

©2024 Carl Scott Harker, author of

Classic Fine Art of Cats