I kiss the cheek of my cat
   she hums in her sputtering
      engine the comfort
  of our ritual she twitches
         on my chest stares
              deep into my eyes
        our noses
                  sniffing
                              each other

                truth is
                      her teeth
            reek of yesterday
                  but I am trying
                          to rid myself
                  of the past
                                year

(originally published in The Gorko Gazette, Summer 2024)