"Buba" by Julia Gaskill

Buba

My twin brother was gifted
a tortoiseshell kitten as a child
for overcoming the urge
to suck his thumb.

He named the cat Pretty,
because she’s pretty!
he reasoned with our parents.

To this day, I think I love him most
as this seven-year-old freezeframe.

A little boy clinging
to his new friend,
gentle as a breeze. 
His hands soft and
not yet a man’s.

Singing so loud to a cat of her beauty
the whole neighborhood could hear.

Julia Gaskill

Julia Gaskill (she/her) is a professional daydreamer hailing from Portland, Oregon. She has competed multiple times on national stages and toured with her poetry across North America. Julia's work has been featured through Pile Press, Vagabond City Lit, Nailed Magazine, Button Poetry, and many more. She was included in the anthologies In Absentia (Bicycle Comics), Excelsior! (FreezeRay Poetry), and A Shape Produced by a Curve (great weather for MEDIA). Julia is the author of four chapbooks, runs the open mic Slamlandia out of Portland, co-founded the Bigfoot Regional Poetry Festival, and is the creator of the spoken word album, Stouthearted Bitch. Her debut full-length collection, weirdo, came out through Game Over Books in October 2022. Find Julia at @geekgirlgrownup or juliagaskill.com.

Headshot: Ben Lzicar

Photo Credit: Staff