Strays
Simple barriers of chick wire and bedsprings
vector dog-runs in a different direction.
Not cats!
Wooden fence, chain-link or picket,
the common cat ignores barriers
like ordinary caterpillars,
their paths criss-cross lawn, alley, garden,
trails from their home to our hang-out.
We do not feed them,
and wonder why so many strays
find our deck the neighborhood place to play -
mottled, calico, solid black,
mongrel exotics, taupe and sand,
a yellow tom and the home cat - tuxedo.
We feed her.
Tigers stalk buttercups hunting roebuck,
leopards slink through azaleas,
the home cat, once panther trim,
watches through the patio door,
no longer able to protect her territory
or catch fat mice and fallen fledglings.
Squirrels avoid our trees, rabbits our clover.
From the safety of his kennel,
an old dog once barked at interlopers,
ignored by most, teased by a few.
The last tired mutt has left the house,
and only stray cats and plump mice remain.
Tails taste the air.
IF MY MAIL BOUNCES, MAIL [log in to unmask] AS AN ALTERNATIVE.....April Arthur
Seeley and Gary poetry poems at:
http://gardawg.homestead.com/gardawg.html --- Writer's Hood at
http://www.writershood.com/..... Poets for Peace.... ˇPoemas sí, balas no!
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