The cat’s movement across the dust
at the top of the bookshelf,
the drop down to the top of the chair back
then over the narrower arm of the chair
to look out over the floor, height just another
plaything, and then balance
on my knee before leaping—
this is the writing, cat paws finding
footprints on what seemed to lack a stair,
revisions the many attempts to human the path
and not lose the sense of thin air.
–
Thomas Allbaugh has published a novel, a short story collection, and a chapbook of poems, The View from January, published by Kelsay Books. His work has appeared in River Heron Review, Modern Poetry Review Quarterly, Whale Road Review, and other venues. He teaches writing at Azusa Pacific University.