Said the Ashtray by Bogdan Dragos

Of course

predators don’t always murder their

prey

Many times they will just

catch something

for fun and then

release it

and revel in the godlike feeling of having

allowed a creature infinitely

weaker

to live

“My cat brought me a mouse,” she said. “Held him

from the back of the head,

like a newborn kitten. You know how

cats do, they sometimes bring

you game

like a trophy

or to show appreciation for taking care

of them, allowing them to live

in your house. Well, mine brought

this cute little mouse

and guess what,

the mouse is still in my room to this day

but the cat is not. I don’t

know what happened to

her. She went out and never

returned. It’s been a month and a half. And

it hurts all the more. That cat

was my therapy animal. She helped

me cope with…