The Throw
They allowed themselves a longer walk.
The traffic slowed for them, along the railway
by the fence, the slope giving way
to the beds of the sleepers. The day
was bright for March, and a cat -
a kitten really - was following them,
its tail like a periscope in the grass.
This annoyed her: they paused, it paused;
they moved, it moved. It knew what they
were thinking. She knew it did.
So she asked him to help her with the fear,
and going puss puss puss
he crouched and approached the shy creature -
tame, wanting petted - and when close enough
snatched its collapsible body, a bag of water,
and, careful on the backswing,
hoisted it high and far over the fence
and the lines, he turning away before
it hit the ground. She thanked him,
and they walked on, longer still,
he at her mercy, happy his cruelty
was at last praiseworthy.
The traffic slowed for them, along the railway
by the fence, the slope giving way
to the beds of the sleepers. The day
was bright for March, and a cat -
a kitten really - was following them,
its tail like a periscope in the grass.
This annoyed her: they paused, it paused;
they moved, it moved. It knew what they
were thinking. She knew it did.
So she asked him to help her with the fear,
and going puss puss puss
he crouched and approached the shy creature -
tame, wanting petted - and when close enough
snatched its collapsible body, a bag of water,
and, careful on the backswing,
hoisted it high and far over the fence
and the lines, he turning away before
it hit the ground. She thanked him,
and they walked on, longer still,
he at her mercy, happy his cruelty
was at last praiseworthy.
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