After the seizure
In response to an online news item, ‘After the Rapture’ Will Place Your Cats With Loving Atheist When Jesus Comes — for a Small Fee’
returning to consciousness she
saw that she had not been taken
anywhere
most of what she could see was
the kitchen floor where she lay
attentive to her breathing
making sure it was hers
mind touring her body for
breakages more serious than
the coffee cup at the edge of her vision
no, she was not ready to get up yet
but she gave thanks to any deity who might be listening
that she was not alone
her snail’s-eye view took in the calm approach of Audrey
the loyal, Audrey the friend always to be counted on,
delicately skirting the spilt coffee
oh, the reassurance, the comfort of Audrey’s face
close to hers, Audrey’s beautiful blue eyes, Audrey’s voice,
endearingly husky, coaxing her to get up, Audrey’s creamy paw
softly, patiently batting her nose
Mandy Macdonald is an Australian writer, translator and editor living in Aberdeen and trying to make sense of the 21st century. She has had poems published in Poetry Scotland, Pushing Out the Boat, ‘The Wait’ charity anthology, and Haiku Scotland, and forthcoming in Lunar Poetry (December 2014) and Outlook Variable (Grey Hen Press, forthcoming).
