NaPM April 26 2015

[rayheinrich]

It seemed the right thing to do at first - 
so many hungry kittens in the world
without a home, stretching 
and rolling on their backs in the hot sun

did I just leave the door open 
and let them come in or did I venture
out and rub their warm bellies 
or offer them the last slice
of balogna from the package?

The house is not overly large -
perhaps just the right size 
for a single man and a cat
to keep him company
but much too small for the hundreds

lounging on the counters
and scratching the newel posts
into some new sculpture
that only cats can understand.

A man may never own a cat
 but he can own a house
with a quick running stream in the back yard
and a dozen burlap sacks
and a stack of bricks.

People, such as I, who live with an exceedingly large number of cats, cannot fault thee.

These lines are just a bit transcendently sublime:

"...and scratching the newel* posts
into some new sculpture
that only cats can understand."



*I had to look up 'newel'.
I can't imagine having missed it all these years... illiteracy never sleeps.