Catch a glimpse of me
through my living room window

in my oversized cat sweatshirt, kissing
my sons, who are also cats.

Find me mysterious, intriguing, sexy
in an unhinged kind of way. Depressed

sexy. Anxious sexy. Got out of bed at 1 p.m.
sexy. Think of knocking, but know better.

My heart is a homebody. She’s nailed a no soliciting sign
to my chest. I’ve never been able to pry it off.

I’m the kind of sexy that will hide in the bedroom to avoid answering
the door. What I’m saying is, in person is out – catfish me

in my fanfic comments. Say I write love like I’ve touched it
everywhere. Say I slip into yearning like leggings I’ve worn soft

while lazing on my couch watching MTV’s Catfish. Charm me
by ensuring Kami comes back to co-host our episode.

I’ll forgive you for not looking like your photos,
as long as you’re not a cis man, a republican, or a cat hater.

Look at my lips. Lean in. Tell me a joke
that requires extensive knowledge of pop culture.

I’ll be your everything, as long as your desires don’t include
living in the same house. Come closer, but not so close

that you compromise my carefully constructed morning routine
which only leaves room for felines, not another human being.

Let’s haunt my neighbors until they move out. We’ll move you in
and use our sharp edges to cut a little doorway in the fence between,

be each other’s favorite visitors. I’ll make space for you
in my bed between the cats, Squishmallows, and yesterday’s clothes.

But only like two nights a week. I can’t sleep
if I’m too crowded, hot, committed.

Do you think it’s sexy – my lust for alone time,
the way I can’t talk before 10 a.m. without being mean,

how I get an attitude because I forget you love me
the minute you walk out the door?

Aren’t you amazed no one else has snatched me up?
You know you want to put up with this bullshit.

~

Bio: Liz G. Fisher (they/she) has loved writing, cats, and falling for fictional characters since childhood. They continue to explore the world and imagine a better one through their words. They live in Michigan with two charming felines, Han and Lando. Their first book, Looking Up at the Sparkle, is coming out in 2027 with Riot in Your Throat Press. Find their work at lizfisherwriter.wordpress.com