for months people kept mentioning the escaped puma
as if it was their idea
our little campus
as if mere recognition was all we could aspire to
and we didn’t help; we’d say
I’m so glad you mentioned the puma
and they’d say
Ha well I had to didn’t I
But there is nothing to say about a puma escaped or otherwise
even its lovely car-like face
even the branch from which it drapes
puma in the library
puma in the canteen
puma cannot fit its head in the bin
puma chasing us up the hill to the octagon
personally my inclination
is to maintain a holy silence
I am not a Christmas card
but need reminding that’s a problem
what if you tired of my pre-emptive regret
the entertainment value chain
how they’ve been discussed and looked at
How awful
Is the puma okay
Are you
Were you there
I’m close to tears a lot right now
or they are close to me I don’t
like to draw a distinction
how you are aligned to the world
you do not know how rare that is
you do not know how rare you are
puma sleeping in the gazebo
puma glancing at the station
I’m really glad you mentioned it
_____________
Luke Kennard is the author of numerous works of poetry and fiction. His second poetry collection, The Harbour Beyond the Movie, made him the youngest writer to be nominated for the Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2007. Notes on the Sonnets won the Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2021.