The more the child wishes
to pet the cats
the more perversely
they seem to accept it
as if their presence
by our side as soon as
the child goes to bed
were not evidence enough
they need to process
the sheer exuberance
this cat shaped creature
brings to their existence
for instance one of them
meows every night
with a mousie at her door
to wish her off to sleep
perhaps to take over
the house now that she
seems to own the place
witness how she cannot
sit still without reaching
for some other glint
of light illuminating
the fur that collects
in the carpet she cannot
keep herself from crawling
how much is she picking up
from these fur babies
receptive to touch
however flailing about
the novelty of a tail
attached to a creature
turning over at the joy
of another living being
Joshua Keiter 