POETRY IS HARD WITH KITTENS

Selected Poems by Martin Appleby

Worse things Happen at Sea

I don’t understand everything

and I will never pretend to

You’ve been through things

that no one should ever experience

You say I am a good boyfriend

because I don’t hit you

That isn’t a very high bar

That is a very fucking low bar

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(a kitten wrote that)

We live together

and we have kittens

and I’m funny

when I’m drunk

But I am terrified

of what happens next

When the booze

is no longer a joke

When not hitting you

is not enough