There’s a place I go
once the Cheshire
has played out the charade,
smiled their last smile.

I crawl deep inside there,
to hear the tick of my own heart,
it makes me feel real again,
gives me time to breathe,
to move away from the melodrama
when smiling cats misbehave,
where I save myself
from transparent charms.

Of course,
none of us ever
really mean any harm,
it’s just human nature.
It’s okay kitty kitty,
I’m a big dog.