What is this strange cat
I know so well?
Who sits behind my back door
And never yet has entered?
Who entreats this wayward lifetime
Cajoles and purrs and winks
No rodents has it eaten
As impatiently it waits.
This marker of the noctourn
My perfect little friend
Never may she leave me
no matter where I wander
First with shadowed whiskers
that fall upon my floor
Last who will stir my dusting
padding lightly, looking through
All my deeds and sayings
marked and noted well
Between the moments fading
as she purrs and prowls.
As the distance shortens
slowly and we turn
this broken down old lunchstop
where her claws draw up the bill
We ordered what was fancied
as though our hearts were free
Swishing along the sidewalk
like a shadow unattached
When will I own my wayward pet?
How shall I keep it warm and close?
To cuddle in and warm
my fears under her nose
This is a borrowed jacket
I wear and meet the cold
One day I must return it
so I can let it go
Her claws will take so gently
and hang upon a hook
As wandering with the feline
has my senses overtook
Here kitty, kitty
I know that we must play
Purr into my ear
Remind me I’ve no escape.