Lee Lou Lai


from the ABC set Not All of Us Are Godlike Superbeings

That 'cheap siamese' to which Evilcat refers
is Lee Lou, and she does have mothish ears.
She's boss-eyed and skinny
as cats come, but cheap? Those stockings she wears -
those barely black, soft ladysocks of hers -
they alone cost a penny.
And as for punting her, Evilcat's sneers
are all he's got. When Lee Lou fights, she's
a scrapper, a mini-

ninja of a kitty with a helluva swipe.
She can't go a week without starting a scrap,
but that's girls for you.
Between bouts, she tends to gamble, or sleep
stretched out like a strewn Autumn scarf. She'll slope
into kitchens, stalk through
living rooms, yowling a greeting or gripe.
"Re-awwwl, she says. "Re-awwwl. Her tail's half-whip
half-blooddarked-epée.

She yawns. She knows her terrain too well.
She'll nip to the roof where she likes to patrol
and contemplate fate.
But she isn't bored; she just likes to freewheel.
When she wants your company, she'll
act like she's all kaput;
her head becomes a hot cannonball
that rolls from the cannon's bronchial
mouth onto your foot.

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