We trust our pets more than we trust most beings—we trust them to keep our thoughts and secrets safe (unless parrots), we trust them to never judge us. In that bond, the freedom to grow and create is fostered. SAD Mag is pleased to present a collection of haikus written by the brilliant Sarah Ens safely and with trust in Balto the Instagram Cat.

8/10/2016

I keep learning that
Heartbreak is really mostly
Just so so boring

12/12/2016

I read 1000
Poems today because I had
1000 feelings

17/1/2017

For happiness try
Baking bread good as your mom's
Practice rising up

29/11/2016

This weather doesn't
Know what it wants and I'm like
Ha ha yeah me too

9/2/2017

Handy spell to ease
Menstrual pain: apply cute
Cat to uterus

31/12/2017

Sicker & sadder
& not much smarter but hey
Bring on the new year!!!!!!!!

From Balto's Mom, Sarah Ens:

I originally began my Balto Instagram account to justify the thousands of photos I was taking of my dumb angel cat Balto, whom I adopted last summer when my sister’s friend’s cat unexpectedly had kittens. The project quickly changed from a silly idea to an experiment in creative discipline, vulnerability, and, most surprisingly, confidence. I'm not often one to share personal thoughts and feelings on social media, but through the fuzzy alias of Balto, I found myself learning to trust the validity of my work and become more comfortable with the idea of taking up space—particularly the insta space of 17-syllable cat captions.

SAD Online

Towards an Aesthetic of Self Discovery via Cats