Pinch the loose neck scruff
of a sightless kitten
and it will dangle from forefinger and thumb in complete
trusting
submission.
Yet once its hind paws slide
into the alien substance that water must represent
its back will arch
its unguarded
near new-born paunch stretch tight
and it will protest
with blind mewlings and pinprick claw flailings.
Kittens writhe
when fighting for their lives.
They scream
under
water
muzzles tightly strained.
Teeth
like the tips of tiny rose thorns
gnash.
Eventually
they lie limp
so that you can haul their bodies up and out.
Note the pale lavender that has crept
across the hairless belly
as you make ready to murder yet another one
because that's what it's all about.
Isn't it?
Isn't it?
