B*I*N*G*O*

By P.S. Nolf

The G67 ball flees down the aisle, 
Bouncing off legs of tables and chairs and humans.
Chased by hordes of tripping and skipping and flipping
Tigers, tuxedos, Siamese, and shorthairs.  
The kittens have gone to war.

Too young to jump, humans help the littles to table tops. 
There they discover the best toys.
Skittles likes to rip up the score cards.
Nugget sniffs the bubbles in the bottles.
Tootsie stalks and spins the Bingo chips.

Tortie Snickers still hides in the tent. 
Dove the ginger sits by the window and watches the rain.  
The black brothers Hugs and Kisses 
nap on a player’s coat on the floor.
People keep kitten watch and miss their match ups.

The black claw with a white paw 
comes over the table top fishing
Looking to hook the socks. 
Regardless of who won them, 
They are Smarties now.

It’s evening’s end. Licorice in his black softness 
and baby blue eyes climbs and 
hides his head in the crook of my arm. 
Covered in a black velvet, the vest feels like his dam.
I am his new mother. B*I*N*G*O*.

Poet’s Note:

My poem is based on Bingo night at Ziggys Cat Lounge. I am not sure which species had more more fun. 

Behind the glass door is a mob of kittens meowing for their visitors. Some are napping in snugglefests. Others are walking the catwalks or climbing trees. Kittens are committing mass destruction of toys or stalking playmates in a celebration of chaos. The residence cats Binx, Blossom. Clawdia, and Pawl teach them humans cater to their every want.

It’s the paradise of Ziggys Cat Lounge of Bremerton, WA dreamed up by Shane and Shannon Gabel. After a week of socialization, most of the kittens are adopted, officially through the Humane Society of Mason County. As of the two year anniversary on August XX, Ziggys has adopted out XXX kittens and cats.

Note: When I went to visit Ziggys last week, the café had adopted out 653 kittens and cats!!!! Since my poem is not being published until October, we have time to wait on official statistics. Officially, 714 kittens were adopted as of August 19, 2025, the second-year anniversary of Ziggy’s Cat Lounge.

Nolf writes poems when the kitty muse Katliope scratches her.  Snakeskin Poetry, Quatrain Fish, Corvid Queen, and Chatham University (Four Rivers) are among the publishers of her work.  In between poems, Nolf is working on a biography Raising Heroes in the White House 1901 -1909:  Theodore Roosevelt and His Youngest Sons Archie and Quentin.