I saw beauty in your cold eyes as you numbly punched the wall.
Your black lupine fur, long and voluminous, falling down your neck and shoulders -
How it swung forward when you halted,
Your teeth poked from your jowl as your breath rasped.
You wore a black shirt, as though your inky fur didn’t make you appear dark enough,
Stood in your apartment, like a beast from a distant place,
In all of your beauty.
I’m sorry to have seen you that way.

Your deathly silver eyes looked to my stoic, bleached face,
And I caught a quiver in your lip.
But my eyes fell with yours, and we, in mirrored motion,
Looked at our paws and studied our claws – how different they were.
Mine wicked and boney, yours short-furred and bleeding.
Your tail flicked, and so did mine.
Your ear twitched, and so did mine.
You growled into the stale and unmoving air, and I rolled in kind,
And when you stepped back, I stepped forward.

Your soul contorted itself to fit in the mold you were given-
The pressure you put upon yourself robbed you of your creativity,
Loneliness dulled the brilliance I saw glowing within you.
When you looked to me, I saw the pain in your heart –
Because you love me, and all that I am,
But I saw tears in your eyes – when you did-
And I’d cry for you if I could, but I couldn’t.
You made me this way, after all.

Inconsolable, I know that all you wanted was a friend,
And like your imaginary friends when you were young,
I was no different. Some things never change.
I rested my muzzle upon your scalp with teeth ever-bared,
And felt your soul breathe.