by Valerie Volk
The others felt it; so did I.
He played me for a sucker,
and I fell for it. Now, looking back,
I simply can’t see why
I gave him mastery.
I tell you, I’d do anything he wanted.
Amazing, how he managed me.
Such skill.
Looked helpless, needy. I added extra clients,
worked long hours, put every cent I made
into his hands. He took it all, and told me
what a very clever little Puss I was. I purred
and preened myself, happy just to serve.
I didn’t realise he had a string of other kitty-cats
who curled up on his knee whenever I was busy.
They worked their butts off for him too. I guess
they had their own especial fields.
His business acumen was pretty sharp; no wonder
he did well. It didn’t take him very long at all
to grow beyond what I could do for him, and then
it was to be a swift farewell.
Or so he’d thought.
Biggest mistake he ever made, to let me fall in love.
For cats have claws, you know. I guess he had forgotten
that big cats don’t take kindly to bad treatment.
The exit that he’d planned did not go quite
as he had wanted.
He’s found stiletto heels can leave
some very nasty scars;
girls won’t look at him
in quite the way they did before.
For boots have many uses
that he hadn’t quite foreseen.
The judge was sympathetic. Not surprising, when
we looked across the court in silent recognition
of past services he’d paid for, and received …
Six months inside gave me a little time
to think and plan. I’m calling in
some favours, and I’ve gone legit.
A shoe shop.
“Puss in Boots” seems a good name.
The tax man doesn’t need to know about
what’s offered in the salon at the back …
Epilogue
The mind’s a dark and devious place;
none of us can be too certain
about potential we’ll reveal
once we raise the inner curtain.
We’ve thrown some light on lurking depths,
black places that within folk lie.
In honesty we all ought say
“There, but for God’s good grace, go I!”
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