INK Poetry Read

Gram-Gram the Kitty - My Great Grandmother
by Basia Fisher ‘18

Gram-Gram the Kitty
Is a realistic looking
Stuffed brown cat
Which wears a blue bow
Kitty is named after Gram-Gram
Gram-Gram was my Great Grandmother

Gram-Gram the kitty
Lives on a shelf
Next to an African doll
Very few memories left
Of Gram-Gram are
My internal storage box
But I do recall looking
At the Kitty, sometimes
Playing with her
When I visited Gram-Gram
At the Wardwell in Saco

Kitty is just an artifact
Who watches me each day
As I write or make art
Without me knowing
Her owner rarely touches her
I never think about Kitty
That doesn’t mean I don’t
Care about Gram-Gram the Kitty
She has been in my ownership
For almost ten years
Real cats are senior citizens
When they’re aged ten
My Gram-Gram the Kitty
Doesn’t need nine lives
She will be stuck with me
Watching me be creative

Could Gram-Gram’s soul
Be within my Kitty?
Has Gram-Gram read
Those unfinished fanfics
The WIP short stories
Or my current novel?
Can Gram-Gram see
My homemade cards,
The paintings I’ve painted
Or my digital abstracts?
If Gram-Gram really had
Been living inside my Kitty
Since Two Thousand Eight
That would make Kitty
Much more than an artifact

Within Kitty, Gram-Gram
Secretly and silently had
Spied on her Great-Granddaughter
As she went through
Her “Great Depression”
During the SMS era
Gram-Gram watched me
Sail through teenagedhood
At Thornton Academy
She’ll experience my graduation
When June finally arrives
A few years later…
I can see Gram-Gram smile
When I publish my novel

Indeed, Kitty definitely
Isn’t only an immortal artifact
She’s a subconscious
Reminder that Gram-Gram’s
Soul still breathes within
Kitty as her abiotic shell
Sitting on my shelf
Peeping at me as I
Slowly type and type
My manuscript or
Peacefully draw and draw
Pieces of artwork