CAT’S CRADLE

You are diagnosed with Cat Eye Syndrome as an infant; you struggle to keep food down; gag on the spoon your mother puts in your mouth. When you are sick, your father reads you stories, teaches you the lyrics of Harry Chapin songs.

The doctors find out that the vomiting is caused by your intestines
strangling into a coiled mess around your stomach.
The internal knotting is another defect Cat Eye Syndrome has caused.

This explains the frequent trips to the ER to be rehydrated;
your insides wringing themselves out.

By Adrienne Novy

Biography:

Adrienne Novy is a poet and teaching artist from the Chicago suburbs studying Creative Writing and Education in Saint Paul, MN. Her work can be found in FreezeRay Poetry, Voicemail Poems, and on Button Poetry. She loves dogs, a good blended chai, and writing in coffee shops. She is a strong believer in that it’s possible to be both cute and powerful at the same time.