All the hurt, heartache, horror in the world,
and I can't stop thinking about the little mouse
my cat brought in last night.
Attempting to be a saviour, I trapped it
under a glass. It scrabbled desperately at the sides,
as if its life was there, just out of reach.
But its back legs trailed behind, bent
and useless, tethering it to a certain death.
The sugar-coated shine dissolving from its eyes —
I couldn't leave it to suffer.
Panicked, all I could think of
was the hammer, just one blow —
but my kindness crumbled
in the face of this small savagery.
I carried it outside. Put it safely away
from the cat's maiming, to die slowly,
alone in the rainy dark.
What I'm trying to say is
being kind takes bravery.
What I'm trying to say is
my timidity was brutal.
What I'm trying to say is
it's easy to believe
you'd do the right thing
until you have to bloody
your own hands.
I was really pleased to be featured in the first edition of AEOS Magazine, an ace looking print-only independent journal from Scotland.
there are only a few copies left now – get one here!