Creative writing submission from the Rest Less community – submit your entry here.
In the blackness of night
He was right out of sight
Paulo scaled the drainpipe
He was greeted by a scene
Reflecting a moon in his happy face
There on the line was the frilly lace
Scrambled across the line for an ace
Dancing as a squirrel not a cat
He brought it down on the grass
Held the lace between his teeth
The bra dangled as a saxophone
He swiftly snatched it fancy that
As if he was a dog with a bone
Balancing as a high-wire cat
Paulo scarpered to safety racing home
The next day he wandered afar
Peering into the darkest garden
Past the priest’s early morn sermon
Before the lady’s pants were missed
Hidden by the fast-fading grey mist
Before her last secret partner’s kiss
Paulo brought her the pink lacy pants
His owner was somewhat taken aback
She looked at Paulo somewhat askance
‘You’re a badass cat that’s for sure’
Half-smiled for he touched her core
Until that is the next dark night
When Paulo lit out at midnight
As usual he was up to no good
Prowling in the neighbourhood
Paulo chanced upon a hip group
Listening entranced to a music loop
Followed by an odd holler and a hoop
As they smoked Paulo quietly snooped
Hiding in the shadows ready to swoop
Laying out flat as the music played
Paulo had no reason to be afraid
Amused he caught a pipe in his paw
Juggled and hooked the tobacco too
Which the group covertly grew
Paulo’s act was perhaps a bit rash
As he had grabbed their secret stash
Pure punk skunk was high-value cash
Yet, no longer as a passing stranger
Pussyfoot Paulo relished the danger
Paulo never stayed for very long
Before the strain of the last song
Paulo was already up and gone
He swiftly returned to his mistress
Getting back to where he belonged
Flying fast with the wind
In a night-time heady pong
His head was spinning with a winning song
Clenched teeth clasped a classic brass bong
His prowess was put to the test
Paulo saw that Patsy had pressed
The black bra close to her chest
Smiled and changed with a flicker
Into the purloined pink lacy knickers
Running home on his last trip
Paulo held the pipe in a firm grip
The tortoiseshell inhaled the bong
Regardless of whether it was wrong
Though that night it seemed so right
Patsy his mistress looked at Paulo
In a mock gentle chide she said
‘You’re a badass guilty cat
You should be sitting on
Not stealing a “Welcome” mat’
Yet Paulo looked kind of pleased
Patsy laughed and gently teased
Sharing a language without words
Each knowing what the other heard
Paulo said to Patsy with feline glee,
‘Hey man, you’re right, you, me,
The whole world, we’re all guilty’
Together they laughed and laughed
Not caring if someone blew the gaff
Their life and love was grasped forever
They swooned within a blue moon graph
The moment was too loose to lose
A star-filled feeling beyond the blues
Acting as if they were runaway lovers
A skeleton key to life they discovered
Patsy and Paulo caught as rebel-poets
Finding what mattered between words
Living within each other’s open heart
The feeling was too raw to forget
Long into the star-kissed filled night
Together their lifeline love took flight
©Noël Sweeney
A note from the author: “May I outline the reason for writing my poem? It is a tribute to my much-missed moggy, Molly, who was my forever favourite feline friend. Molly was abandoned when she was pregnant and then found sanctuary in an abandoned old rusty car on a patch of scrubland. In order to survive she raided the neighbours’ homes and stole whatever she could find.
Meanwhile, she fed her kittens and another stray cat who joined her in the car. All the cats except Molly were finally rehomed. We ‘rescued’ Molly. She was a fine feline in every way except for one illegal fault: without reason, she still stole the neighbours’ goods and remained a literal cat burglar throughout her long life.
My tribute to the memory of Molly is a little risque but is no less than a love story. As you see I have changed the name and the gender to protect the ‘Guilty’.
Are you feeling creative? We are proud to have a hugely talented community on Rest Less, which is why we’re so excited to open up a section of the site dedicated to showcasing the wonderful and diverse writing of our members. If you have a piece of creative writing that you’d like to share with the Rest Less community – you can do so here.