A small cat attacked a small boy in the community today
for no reason. It was an orange cat with blue kittenish
eyes and no hint of malice in its plump body, sweet
fluffy neck or claws that raked the child’s
skin for no reason. The child was simply playing
running over beetles with his scooter in that
adorable way we love in children.
Two mynahs mauled a baby sparrow as we watched
saying shoo, shoo. We watched the sparrows build
in the soft crook of an oleander, knew mynahs to be
clever, occasional takers of ripe fruit.
The baby lies in crushed bits and bloody filigree of bones
on our grass, nest is in shreds, the oleander has shed
pink flowers all over.
The boy’s mother is angry and swears she will kill
any cat that comes near her home, her pretty garden.
We swallow guilt, add our fear of small quick cats and vile
vicious birds to the list tucked into our palms.
The world has become dangerous for no reason.
