*Bird in the House

Some years back, when I first met my husband, John O., he had a cat.He had named her Sally Rose, after the great Emmylou Harris, and her song, “The Ballad of Sally Rose.” She was a beautiful and clever Tabby cat. She could fetch a ball as well as any dog we’ve ever known! From that time living in an apartment in Osborne Village in Winnipeg, came the inspiraton for this poem.

My cat, a poet,
sits at the window
eyes glinting,
tail switching,
watching
the moving creatures below
She turns
and sees her yellow ball
resting on the floor
Leaping
I see her transformed
into a hunter 
She slaps it 
with a paw 
and it rolls toward
my feet 
The cat approaches me 
with wild meows 
and gleaming eyes, 
she is eager 
for the chase 
I toss the ball 
and for a moment 
she watches, 
poised, 
as it soars 
through the air 
on invisible wings
then leaps into 
action 
springing 
towards the kill. 

Irene Shaw 

(Copyright, Irene Shaw, 2021)

*a symbol of death