Tomcat

His days hunting, his nights fighting and
Fucking. Lord of the barn. Harem of pretty cats. He

Kills bats and swallows, songbirds and shrews. Gifts us
With mouse heads delivered to the side porch. Rumbles

With a rough purr rubbing his scent on our pantslegs.
Swaggers the aisles like a Bishop. Brings in adolescent

Females like a street pimp, beats up their swains,
Murders all kittens not his own so their sluttish mothers

Will come in heat. Drives his sons out like an old testament patriarch,
Battered and scarred. Defends his territory with cannonades of

Acrid piss. Old pirate now:Three-legged and one-eyed.
Wailing saxophone of midnight jazz battles.

Abcessed in a buccaneer’s patched coat commanding a loft of
Scattered bones. Emperor on the high throne

Of sweet bales. Watchful. Guarded. Greets us
Gravely at morning chores. Claws sheathed and unsheathed

In the pleasure of being stroked. His due acknowledged.
One unblinking yellow eye. Big head. Barbed penis.

 

Poet Joan Colby has published widely in journals such as Poetry, Atlanta Review, South Dakota Review, etc. Awards include two Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards, an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Literature. She has published 16 books including Selected Poems from FutureCycle Press (which received the 2013 FutureCycle Prize) and Ribcage from Glass Lyre Press which has been awarded the 2015 Kithara Book Prize. Colby is also an associate editor of Good Works Review and FutureCycle Press.

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist and photographer from the Boston area. He also owns and operates an elevator company that supplies custom-built elevators for clients from New England to Hollywood. Author of two poetry and photograph collections (Under the Weight of Whispers and Into the Thorns and Honey) on Big Table Publishing, he donates all profits from his books to various charities for the homeless and local animal shelters. Glenn is also the official photographer for the Newton Writing and Publishing Center.