The Sunday Paws: #8

Pattiann Rogers's "Without Violence"

Sharing a photo or two of Wilbur and Ozni, affectionately referred to as “the boys” by many, happened monthly. Then, life got busy.

Not long after, life got hot—not very warm, but hot—and demanded that everything slow down for a while. It has, and for that reason, The Sunday Paws has returned with another photo and poem for you.

Wilbur and Ozni, or The Boys / Photo by Michele Ryan

This installment’s poem comes from Pattiann Rogers. It is entitled “Without Violence.” Enjoy.

That cat who comes during sleep, quiet
On his cushioned claws, without violence,
Who enters the house with a low warm rattle
In his throat; that cat who has been said
To crawl into a baby's crib without brushing
The bars, to knit his paws on the pale
Flannel of the infant's nightdress, to settle
In sleep chin to chin with the dear one
And softly steal the child's breath
Without malice, as easily as pulling
A silk scarf completely through a gold ring;

The same cat who has been known to nudge
Through castle doors, to part tent flaps,
To creep to the breasts of brave men,
Ease between their blankets, to stretch
Full length on the satin bodices of lovely
Women, to nuzzle their cheeks with his great
Feline mane; it was that cat who leaped last night
Through the west window of father's bedroom. 
Who chose to knead his night's rest on my father's
Shoulder, who slept well, breathing deeply;
Leaving just before dawn to saunter toward
The north, his magnificent tail and rump
Swaying with a listless and gorgeous grace.

Previous installments of The Sunday Paws include:

The Sunday Paws: #7

The Sunday Paws: #6