If Visitors Were Cats

Evie Wood

if only visitors were cats
not one to care about 
unpacked cardboard boxes
indeed a secure hidey-hole 

visitors could please
crawl into that space 
crouching in silence
a mewling snippet
now and then

not caring about the clutter 
and dangling cobwebs
the carpet pattern
clouded with neglect

why don’t guests want to 
paw and play with 
hanging pieces of string
claw at sofas
jump up where they shouldn’t
contentedly purr

instead 
sit with
pussy bum pursed lips
disapproving stare
running their small 
minds over my 
shelves of dust

show me the guest
who can pounce with 
promptness and precision
on pesky vermin
show off 
their heroic feat of gizzards 
at the back door

show me the cat 
who sits forlornly
desperate and dateless
their feline eyes
downcast with despondency
at bad luck in love

why can’t visitors be cats
aloof and self-contained
heading to the food bowl
at every opportunity
lap-lapping with delight
at tasty morsels

then curling up 
on a proffered knee
not a care in the world
while the duration 
of this visit lasts

During the lockdown of 2020, it was a time of more than usual introspection. I am a creative being and have many projects on the go, and not much time for housework. I have always been an animal lover. It was then I realised that my furry friends were much better company to me than so called human “friends” who judge and pigeon-hole in their need for power and control. An abandoned cat began to visit, as they do, and so I formally adopted him. It was later, when a visitor said “go away cat”, that this poem was birthed.

Evie Wood has written poetry all her life from her early years. Documenting with a wryness, perhaps, the foibles and follies of humanity as she perceives them.

She believes in writing from the heart and a word or phrase that suddenly appears from the ether will kick start the inspiration to scribble.  Language is her lover.  A lover that does not disappoint, nor lead to hand wringing, teeth gnashing misery. Her pets are her joy and delight, and contribute to the garden sanctuary that she feels safe and secure within.