A.

In Colorado, a woman’s father cages his body
over hers when the ground collapses underneath them. 

His lifeless torso clefts against her cheek. 

B. 

On a porch, the white pregnant cat strains
to give birth. Her interrupted gestation 
wastes the fur now sinking into her
ridged-bone ribcage. From the door-frame—
shadowed in an eave. She yowled once,
then yawned, licking one paw
before the time came.

A. 

 
In Colorado, a deputy will note
how weakened rock may have played a role
in the father/daughter’s accident.
Recent heavy rains suffused the soil.

B. 

An overwhelmed cat, shocked by illness,

or by the sudden many, can, at times, consume
her blind litter.

Her eyes will wince

in hungry concentration.

Both A. and B.

The moral is twofold: Nature can be cruel–
call it instinct–and sometimes things just happen.