Lee Lou Lai

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.