CAT POEM

after Marge Piercy

Mine, says your cat, putting out his paw
    possessively.
You are my lover, my friend, 
    my slave, my toy, 
murmurs your cat kneading gently 
    but knowingly on your chest.

You are so kind to feed me
    –my kibbles/ my treats/
my soft food; in the bowl at my feet,
    always fresh water.
      You are kind.

Now, I lay at your feet, 
   this mouse, a little gnarled, 
        [oh well]
   this once-bird, now a little ruffled, 
                     [oh well]
a gift, nonetheless. 
   You should be grateful.

Watch me, watch me
   while I sleep and sleep,
And don’t disturb yourself, 
   lest you disturb me.

Watch how I can leap 
    at the moths in the house,
chase daring roaches 
   into corners,
run up and down trees 
    in the yard.

Remember the time 
   I couldn’t get down,
how we worried needlessly 
   until your grandson
   came and saved me?

Don’t watch me 
   when I leap onto the table,
sniff at the tuna fish sandwich 
  you left there
to answer the phone. Yum.

Don’t watch while I climb 
   cleverly onto the high shelf 
where you keep 
    the antique wine glasses
that once belonged to your grandmother 
   from the old country.

Be encouraged when I purr for you,
    when I rub myself against your legs
–uh oh, don’t trip and fall.

Come, I will teach you 
   to stretch long and long,
to relax into an ever welcome nap. 
I will curl up in your lap and stop you 
    from running yourself ragged
with a thousand little duties. 
   They can all wait.

I will teach you to be still. 
    In the stillness you can pray
and be glad you’re part of the universe
    –you and me.

Cordelia Hanemann, writer and artist, currently co-hosts Summer Poets, a poetry critique group in Raleigh, NC. Professor emerita retired English professor, she conducts occasional poetry workshops and is active with youth poetry in the North Carolina Poetry Society. She is also a botanical illustrator and lover of all things botanical. She has published in numerous journals including, Atlanta Review, Laurel Review, and California Quarterly and numerous others; in several anthologies including best-selling Poems for the Ukraine and her chapbook. Her poems have been performed by the Strand Project, featured in select journals, won awards and been nominated for Pushcarts. She is now working on a novel about her Cajun roots.