My son, the tabby lover,
was livid,
that I did not swerve the minivan
away from the stray
ambling across the old country
highway, potholed,
resurfaced in ragged patches,
that I kept driving-
not pausing to hit the brakes,
not honking,
or hurling out a yelled warning,
till, as if on a speed bump
the wheels bounced
over crunched bones
or a cracked skull
and left a flailing body behind.
My son, the tabby lover,
had not heard-
Dukh hona bahut
swabhavik hai.