Cat!
You stir,
Sleek fur,
Soft pads across the roof
Sprout talons in an instant: cool, aloof.
Cat!
Eschew
Taboo,
From conscience quite exempt,
Christians meet only with your veiled contempt.
Exempt!
Attempt,
Win, lose: no compromise;
There’s fire but no surrender in your eyes.
Cat!
Weakness
And meekness
No friends in this quarter;
Wavelength
Of Strength
For Satan’s own familiar.
Cat!
The night
Is right
Because, unlike the day,
There are no shadows, only shades of grey.
And dark,
But hark!
The song is now begun,
The witching hour rides, the web is spun.
Cat!
A stroke,
A joke,
Old woman by the fire
Feels warmth; for you the warmth’s another’s pyre.
Cat!
Not trust,
But lust
And hedonistic vice,
A stroke is comforting, but won’t suffice.
Cat!
Deceive,
Believe...
What fools these humans be,
None pierce your mask and probe your enmity.
Here puss,
Or: Shush!
Don’t shout, poor thing will fret,
But is she mistress and are you the pet
Or vice verse?
Curse!
No one holds you slave,
No one has ever taken, ’twas you gave.
Cat!
Caress
And gentleness;
Sits in her chair
And runs knarled fingers through your fur. You stare.
My friend!
Pretend.
You wear the kitten’s mask
For her; she’s a diversion from your task.
Cat!
Deceiver!
Weaver
Of a thousand skeins,
Fight to the death, consolidate your gains.
Cat!
The sport
Is brought
To climax, and the claw
Is once again awash with rodent’s gore.
Cat!
Eschew
Taboo,
From conscience quite exempt,
Christians meet only with your veiled contempt.
Cat!
Exempt!
Attempt,
Win, lose: no compromise;
There’s fire but no surrender in your eyes.
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