Cat comes in
Complaining about the weather
As if I could change the season
The omnipotent servant
Called upon to correct the universe
To suit feline whims

Copyright 12-7-04

Miskit Birds

Those tiny birds
That come only in flocks
Sit in the bush
Outside my window

They remind me of Miskit
She caught one a year
Then one of the toms
Took from her and ate it

Her other accomplishment
Was being a good mother
To her single litter
There was nothing else

Always the bottom
Of the pecking order
Without her mothering
Hunting was all that was left

Wounded in a fight
She ended up
With a tummy tuck
Looked like a young cat

Life took on new meaning
She had a chance
To start over
Until the end

© 2005 Sandy Vrooman

How Cats Talk

Cats find humans devoid of intelligence
When it comes to understanding their needs
Their wants and the nuance of their desires

Some treat us like the natives in a foreign land
Who do not speak our language and therefore feel
That volume must be the key to comprehension

I kept company with oe who was more patient
He spoke slowly, softly requesting, not demanding
Explaining his wants and needs

He even tried to learn my language as a compromise
This was brought home to me one fuzzy morning
I had walked by him without the standard greeting

Returning from my absolutions with a bit more focus
I found this cat still on the back of the couch repeating
“Aroo, aroo, are you, are you” mimicking my usual greeting

I guess that was as close as he could get to my salutation
Of petting him and saying, “Hello, Gandalf, how are you.”
Aptly named he was a wizard at interspecies communications

We had many conversations over the years he graced this earth
His wisdom is sorely missed in this house of feline comforts
I keep taking to cats hoping to find another mage of understanding

© 2007 Sandy Vrooman

The authors discuss who should have top billing.