human kittens

i knew a woman once

giving birth to kittens and mice

and the kittens were born full of their brothers and sisters

and they were punished swiftly

though they didn't know why

they thought they were food

they did not know what they'd done

and i was a person once

sending off unread letters

receiving no reply

never bothering asking why

i had a heart once

full of fire and passion

but the summer took it away from me

and autumn has come to retrieve it

and i was a man once

when i was six-years-old

but now i am just a boy

pretentious and brash and bold

the kittens were murdered

thrown into burlap sacks

and weighted down with rocks

in a river deep and black

and they went to heaven. they went to heaven.