Poetry | Animals
My Cat Stares At Me
What does she see?
My cat stares at me with unblinking eyes.
I meet her gaze, wondering “what does she see
when she stares so hard at me”?
A creature that walks, ungracefully, on two legs
swaddled from head to toe, but devoid of any fur,
except for a thatch of grey atop her head.
A large, inelegant animal
who rarely leaps and seldom stretches,
whose ears do not swivel
whose claws do not retract,
and saddest of all has no tail!
No tail to raise high in satisfaction.
No tail to twitch with suspense.
No tail to fatten in warning.
No tail to curl around toes in content.
A puzzling creature, but she has her uses.
To open cans, to pull up shades.
To provide a warm lap and gentle hands.
Her voice is soft and coaxing.
Her words are mostly pleasing.
She seldom says “No ”and more often “Yes”.
Between us, her share of beauty is small
but she is wise enough not to mind this at all.
For I am very beautiful.
If I could change places with her, I wouldn’t.
Still, I never grow weary of her admiration.
I am happy to keep her around.
