Understory, Fall 2026—Issue I (Digital Edition)

aramis

by Emily Walton

My person awakes 

Before any crack of dawn. Prays, then sleeps again. 

She plies me with treats, An effort to distract me; I wait by her side. 

I don’t understand  

Her actions or words, but know She thinks of me, too. 

She goes back to bed. 

I settle down next to her ‘Til she wakes once more. 

Sometimes I wake her 

Before she’s ready to rise; Mommy’s Little Shit. 

That’s not really true.

I am her Covid baby. 

She gave me a home. 

As she was moving, 

She rescued me from winter And took me with her. 

She patched my leg wound, Gave me shelter from the cold And a new brother. 

He’s no longer here. 

She cried for days when he left. I’ve missed him, as well. 

I used to chase him 

Around the house day and night. Now it’s too quiet. 

It’s me and her now. 

I know she loves me dearly, Can’t wait to see me.

She rushes from work. 

I sing for her at the door, Rub on her ankles. 

She gathers me up, 

Gives me lots of chin scritches, Thinks I missed her, too. 

I probably did, 

But I’ll never tell her that. It would make her sad. 

She gives me dinner. 

I tell her about my day 

Sleeping in the sun. 

Guarding the large house, Playing with all of my toys, Pissing in her plants. 

She doesn’t like that. 

I do it to keep her on 

Her toes, just for fun.

Wherever she goes, 

I follow her round the house, Making sure she’s safe. 

Even the toilet. 

She thinks it’s funny, but I Can’t let her fall in. 

I do get lonely. 

I miss her when she’s away, Can’t wait to see her. 

I wait for her at 

The window, to hear her squeal “Baby!” at the door. 

I clean my tail, feign 

Nonchalance, but I’m happy To see her again. 

I like evenings best. 

That’s when I get the red dot,

And extra treats, too. 

I keep her alert. 

I’m her Sweet and Sour Boy. She knows my warnings. 

After a long day, 

We go to bed together. 

I sleep at her feet. 

When tomorrow comes, I’ll wake her up too early. We’ll do it again. 

She’ll pray, sleep again. I’ll annoy her just because. She’ll get dressed for work. 

I’ll wait for her to 

Return, because she loves me. We’re each other’s home.

Emily is currently a paralegal in Raleigh, NC. She is both terrified and excited to move to Ireland to take her place in the Creative Writing MA program at UCC in Fall of 2027. In her free time, she enjoys karaoke and knitting socks and sweaters. She's also a whore for her cat.