Rick L. Landers

Digit the Cat

When she arrived
She was barely alive
Just a scattering of parts
With a User’s Guide

I named her Digit
And assembled her there, by the stairs
And as she came together
Nuts, bolts, software and hairs
I began to love her
Clearly, hopelessly snared

She was my Digit
My mechanical kit
Brand new, soft and fluffy
With an optional factory chip

It was stamped “Independent”
A simple binary choice
She could not give a shit
Or she would come to my voice

I installed the thing
I had to snap it in place
And when I called her to me
She would sit there stone-faced

I even threw her a ball, to see if she’d fetch
But, it was me in her sites
That she wanted to catch

I fed her the oil that came in the box
Plugged her in, to recharge her
Then watched her wrestle my socks

She grew wild and turned crazy
Sometimes lashed out and sliced
So, I took out that chip thinking
“I don’t need these damn bytes!”

I thought then she would love me
She’d be ever so nice!

But, then her wildness grew bolder,
Her cat-ness big as a house
With nine lives to live
And me as her mouse

I would run and she’d chase me
Around every room
Her radical turns
Out maneuvered my broom

Well, I could tell this was futile
I finally turned off her switch
Put her back in her box
She must have more than one glitch

But, soon I returned
And slowly opened the lid
(This wasn’t my fault,
It’s not something I did)

Still sitting in darkness
Her now vacant eyes clear
Then out from one socket
Came a digital tear

© Rick Landers – 2018 – All Rights Reserved

Rick Landers earned his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University, a master’s degree from Golden Gate University and served as a Staff Assistant at Warwick University’s teaching college (U.K.). He also studied at Georgetown University, University of Massachusetts, George Washington University,, The Brookings Institute and the National Defense University. He has been certified as a facilitator (United Technologies) and a mediator (Virginia Supreme Court). Before retiring, he served as the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Communications at the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.. Since 2005, Rick has published and served as the Editor-in-Chief for Guitar International magazine, that includes his interviews with Les Paul, Slash, Judy Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Winter, Steve Vai and many more legendary performers. Rick lives in Reston,, Virginia, with his wife, Terry, his two dogs (Jeep and Rebel) and two cats (Harley and Digit). Eight year old Digit was rescued last year from a hoarding situation of 85 animals, and his poem, “Digit the Cat” is being expanded and revised with illustrator, Dr. J.D. Monger, for publication as a children’s book.

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review