The Path: Stories with Strangers - Up on the Balcony

"Up on the Balcony" is about a kitty cat that I grew up with—she was with us for 14 years, from my ages 11 to 25. Her name was Leia, and she was one of the three cats that we had. Of course I loved them all, but Leia, my sweet baby, tugged at my heart strings the most. She was often very standoffish and preferred to be alone most of the time. She usually did not like to be pet, and she'd often shudder as my hand stroked her soft gray fur and cower away, sometimes meowing unpleasantly. I'd often try to hold her, and she would lock her legs out stick straight, refusing to cuddle into my chest.

But when she did want cuddles or pets, this sweet widdle baby would mew the most high-pitched, plaintive, pitiful little cry, and roll around on the floor so playfully, stretching her paws out and looking up at me.

I was allergies to my kitties, my babies, and would need to wash my hands right after, so cuddles and pets were sparse. Leia would sit on the play structure that my dad made from old kitchen cabinet doors and extra carpeting.

Leia would sit on the highest ledge, almost like a balcony that she laid her paws upon, basking in the warmth of the overhead light. My precious baby Lei-lei...

The poem I wrote was an extremely emotional culmination of feelings—one evening I stood next to my sweet little kitty, wanting to pet her but abstaining as I often did due to my allergies and her lack of desire to be petted. I had looked at my beautiful baby kitten, and she looked back at me. I was suddenly overcome with how beautiful she was, so I ran crying to my room to write a poem about how much I loved her, from afar.

"Up on the Balcony", "Voice", and the next piece are all in 12/8 time signature, also known as compound quadruple time (four strong beats, each beat divided into 3).