In 1985, I borrowed The Aristocats on VHS so many times

the rental shop lady gave me the tape

a sticker on the front bore faded orange smudges where the letters had been worn away

I swam through juddering pinks and purples into the streets of Paris

poor Madame will be so worried

I became a sleeping kitten, wriggled into pyjamas at the airport gate

questing for home, snuggled in the back of a car

counting streetlights and the tops of trees

what’s gonna happen to us mama?

we carried plastic bags of books between schools

curated sepia photos in albums

moments that could have been dreams

fleeting lives lived in rapid succession

remember that dress?

who’s that girl?

I rode the waves, washed up on a new shore amongst flotsam

jetsam, salty rubble

hopped through traffic to the next island

left imprints of myself in so many lives and places

racks of personalities on broken hangers

itchy at the seams