2022
DOLLYWOOD
The cat's name means ghost in Chinese.
She disappears into the grass,
Jumps straight elevator up
And returns to her brood with a vole for lunch.
Her paws like the three skittish sets
Winking in the dark of the barn
Are white and with an extra toe, maybe three.
Yao-ling sounds to me a lot like Dolly Parton
Imploring the town slut, mercy.
Dolly Parton sends every baby born in Tennessee
A book a month until they're five.
She has my aunt's smile, and, I imagine, back pain.