The Sovereign Cat

The Sovereign Cat: Poems on Sisterhood, Grief, and HealingHow do you translate a life built on the steady streets of La Puente and the jagged, neon-soaked sidewalks of Hollywood? How do you honor a sister who was both your fiercest protector and your most complicated shadow?In her debut collection, The Sovereign Cat, H. C. Cisneros offers an unvarnished testimony of a sisterhood forged in the fire of survival.
Through sixty-five raw and rhythmic poems, the "Voyage" travels from the quiet safety of a dusty brown van to the "Adrift" years of addiction, betrayal, and the heavy weight of being a young caregiver. This is more than a book of poetry; it is an intimate dictionary of "Allie-nese"-a private language spoken only by two sisters navigating a world of grit and grace. From the roar of a motorcycle shield to the "ghostly" blue eyes of a Siamese named Boyse, these verses capture the shifting roles of a lifelong bond: the rebel who became a mother, the warrior who became a memory, and the "working-world mouse" who finally found her voice.
Spanning the landscapes of Bassett, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles and the frozen beauty of Alaska, The Sovereign Cat is a roadmap for anyone who has ever carried the weight of family trauma or searched for a haven in the storm. It is a story of restitution and the unbreakable kinship that remains when the world walks away. Explore the four pillars of a life redefined: HOME, SURGE, ADRIFT, and KIN. Witness the "test to testimony." This is the translation of us.