Catnight

Full text

It was a normal night inside my home
As I lay sleeping all alone
Alone I say, but for my cat

Who, as felines are often wont
Spent the nighttime on the hunt
Hoping to find a mouse or maybe a rat

My dreams were filled with pleasant things
Like beaches and boats and flying with wings
For me the darkness posed no threat

But then my illusions, to my despair
Turned to frightful lions, tigers and bears
And I awoke in a cold, cold sweat

Then in the stillness of my bed
I heard a sound that lifted my head
And raised the hairs on the back of my neck

To the door my wide eyes turned
As in my brain anxiety burned
I had become a nervous wreck

For from the kitchen outside my room
I heard commotion in the darkened gloom
So frozen under the sheets my body lay

As I pondered my next action
Perhaps if I moved not a fraction
The intruder would simply go away

I listened carefully, fears fully aroused
To the strange noise that filled the house
Trying to discern the burglar’s doings

Clinking glasses and water running
Then a familiar low-pitched rumbling
Could this be the sound of coffee brewing?

So able to rest my mind was not
As I lay wondering at the villain’s plot
Had he come for simple theft?

Or, I thought as I caught my breath,
Was he seeking my untimely death?
Would he leave my poor cat bereft?

Again the footsteps scurried down the hall
And I listened quietly through the wall
To the sound of a harmless pitter-pat

And from my chest escaped a sigh of relief
For the noise which ha caused me so much grief
Was merely the motions of my precious cat

That suspicious sound of perculation
Was a product of my imagination
Prompted by my pet’s night-loving play

The folly of nocturnal antics
Had thrown my mind into a panic
No wonder he sleeps throughout the day!

Soon however, my mind arose
As thirst invaded my repose
And I stood to cross my bedroom floor

Into dreamland I would never wander
Until I had drunk a glass of water
So I stumbled toward the kitchen door

But in the hall I sensed a scent
That froze my gait in still suspense
For that aroma confirmed my fears

It was an odor my nose knew well
That unmistakable coffee smell
Someone had indeed been here

I entered the room and turned on the light
And saw small eyes expand in fright
I stared and dropped my jaw

For there before me I saw my cat
Who at the kitchen table sat
A cup of java in his paw!

I regarded him with a silent stare
He sat motionless, mug poised in mid-air
Then I turned off the light and saw his eyes gleam

I turned my back and returned to my room
As I climbed into bed I had to assume
This had been simply a twisted dream

But next morning after I woke,
Something strangely made me choke,
As if I’d swallowed a hasty bug.

When I’d sipped my coffee to the grounds,
To my shock and chagrin I found,
Cat hairs in the bottom of my mug.

As I spat out my last drink,
My cat gave me a little wink,
And pulled something from a jar,

And then hopped down to the floor,
And bounded out the door,
Carrying the keys to my car.