Not Quite Alone

I am glad of the cat

who keeps company with me

from time to time sitting

beside me on the arm of the chair

or on my arm despite

my need to have it free

and sometimes I pause from work

or pull her close against me to rest

slightly purring against my chest

and not body-blocking the view

of keyboard and screen…

At night and time to sleep,

she walks across me

with hard pointed feet that

concentrate all her little weight

against nerve points

and tender spots that wince…

I wake to find that I’m her bed

or just behind my knees

she has kept warm and cozy

through the chilly night,

and that is fine and right.

I’ve grown accustomed to my days

of freedom from the worries and cares

the frustrations, exasperations,

the aggravations of a partnered life,

happy so, and unperturbed

by the losses great, inevitable and fore-ordained

that I feel I can no longer quite afford…

My time is mine, replete with little pleasures

of small animals within safe-boundaried settings

that preclude both cuddles and pettings;

The little pointy-footed cat

much makes up for that.

_{Oct 2016 by CL Redding}