Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Cat
I
The stealthy feline
rises onto the table
and sits in
defiance.
II
Among the exceptional beasts,
the only one that thinks
like a human
is a cat.
​
III
Purring soft as
katydid wings—
I fall asleep to
a cats ruminations.
IV
The age-old question:
to love the servile sycophant of a dog?
Or the freethinking paws
of a cat?
V
Silky slits for eye.
impatient, cunning—
fangs of power—
the cat dominates,
and I submit.
We all submit.
​
VI
Dogs have pulled sleds,
hunted and done
our dirty work, deeds:
to toil and sweat and die!
Cats have
been god and goddesses,
infallible ferocious felines—
free.
​
VII
I love a cat
because I love rebellion
VIII
Somewhere
an ecosystem is thriving.
The outdoor cat must be
slaughtering to change this fact
​
IX
A cat
and independence
are one.
A cat and a lion and a tiger
are one.
A cat and a lion and a tiger
and independence
are one.
​
X
​
Unfettered by rules
of mere mortals
a cat plays
with its prey.
​
XI
Bastest trumps Anubis
Bastet so beautiful!
Full breasts and knowledge—
A cat is more a masterpiece
than the pyramids of Giza
​
XII
The corpulent kitty
crashed
on the couch
its
capricious, captious claws,
alien eyes,
bewitching heart
decide
if you are worthy of love .
​
XIII
The cat flicks its tail
and walks through the garden
into the opening
with a dead rodent in mouth,
which it drops near the front door—
it saunters back
into the forest.
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