Poetry by Eloise Schultz

A letter arrived that was addressed to the cat.
I opened it and immediately wished I hadn’t.
It was a note confirming his admittance to the bar
and that’s the kind of thing you want to open yourself.
I didn’t doubt that he had the qualifications or knowledge,
though between you and me, his moral fitness was unclear.
There was also the question of where he apprenticed, but he
was often gone for the whole day and could have convinced
any of the law offices in town to supervise him. I wondered
how he had learned to write, but then I remembered that we
gave him lots of pens at his bar mitzvah. I made a note to bring
this up at dinner casually, so not to embarrass him, and then
I put out my cigarette and brought my bowling balls inside.
All told, I was proud of him and only a little surprised.
It’s going to be great to have a lawyer in the family.

Eloise Schultz (she/her) lives on an island in Maine. Her poems have recently appeared in Hunger Mountain, Bicoastal Review, and Sextet, and elsewhere. Her first chapbook, [Dug Out] is forthcoming from Alternating Current Press. She enjoys playing the flugelhorn. Find her online at www.eloiseschultz.com.

Photo by Ayla Meinberg on Unsplash