poem for kate-anna
by Scott-Patrick Mitchell
on the day they buried
kate-anna, rowdy & i
, we swam: dove deep
into wet love letters of
water, back-stroked on
notes that lamented the
immortality that all
humans lack, how we
all leave life bankrupt
& broke, but so much
richer for experience
in my pool we became
aqua fools, cracked a
bottle of pink champs
open & drank in from
jars, toasting kate-anna
: it’s how she would
have wanted it, my mate
said, dipping waist deep
but i thought: where is all
the confetti; the overlap &
abundance of cat memes
; the death cab for cutie
; tatts & all that; the big
breasts that made even a
guy like me think that yes
, there i can bring my head
to rest, her singing mother
song of instinct to the many
who came, honey to queen
bee, entranced, intoxicated
, in love
alas, there was none of that
, except these memories &
malarkey, my black cat
& now, this poem, bestowal
IMAGE: “Swimming Pool” by Henri Matisse (1938).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Scott-Patrick Mitchell is an Australian poet whose latest collection, inner pity poems (2016), is available now through Department of Poetry. He recently won the March 2016 Perth Poetry Slam and 2015 WA Poets Inc Creatix Poetry Award plus performed THE 24 HOUR PERFORMANCE POEM at Crack Theatre Festival. For more information please visit Facebook.
