2025 Commended poem: 'Plum (the name of the cat)' by Hazel Rogers

Plum (the name of the cat)

It’s like I didn’t get it until now, but now I do, because he was all scared of
bubbles and the vacuum cleaner and sometimes even toys and loud noises
but he didn’t ever scratch anyone, he was still pretty chill

                    And now that i’m all insane and i get scared by things like

Cafes and

            Bars and

                        Too many people

                    And sitting in the cinema

    And going to work                     and getting the train             and sitting in
a car and

Loud noises and

                                            Yeah

I think I’m a lot like my cat but he’s dead so I can’t ask him if he gets scared of
those things too

                    But it’d be good if i could ask him. I think we’d maybe sit on the
chairs outside
In the garden of the house where I grew up, and I’d have a drink in front of
me, and maybe I’d have a little bowl of milk for him or maybe some soya
yoghurt because he liked that for some reason

                                And we’d talk, like we always did.

                                And then we’d watch the leaves drop off the cherry tree.

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Dead Cat Poetry Prize - winners and commendees, 2025