Small Things That Breathe In Our Homes Poem by Cat Singh

The creatures moved
like they were more than creatures,
like there was something enormous
in their small breakable bodies.

They asked for food like babies crying,
and we fed them.
They ate too quickly
and made their stomachs sick,
and we stroked their bellies
to distract the pain receptors
as if we could know their pain.

The creatures moved
like they were more than creatures,
like humans with arthritis in their joints
and big broken hearts

that felt more
than they
were ever meant
to feel.

They stood on two legs
in passing moments,
and in passing moments,
they understood their physical boundaries

like old men
with long aching spines
and two feet
on the ground.