INNES

by Tony Dawson
(Sevilla Spain)

Innes was a ginger tom
who never blamed me
for having him snipped.
In fact, it seemed to make him
love me all the more.
He was named after a member
of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Maybe that’s why he behaved
more like a dog than a cat.
Whenever I came home
he’d run up the drive,
to meet me, tail erect
like a bumper car’s trolley,
jump onto my shoulder
and curl around my neck,
a drooling fox fur scarf.
I still wonder if he missed me
when I left home for good
thirty-five years ago.