Scaredy Cat

//scaredy cat

Scaredy Cat

We have a cat
whose emerald eyes
look infused with belladonna,
and stretch owl-like
when he hears an unexpected noise.
He awakens from a Sleeping-Beauty coma,
as a daddy longlegs passes by.

Attention! He stares
like an inspiration
for a Keane-style portrait
when he hears
footsteps on the front porch
or the squeal of the screen door
as it is opened.
He sits like a cat
from ancient Egypt,
centuries of wariness
in his alarmed emerald look.
His radar ears flip.
Then, when he sees it’s us,
he casually meows,
pats a petting hand
with a paw,
and falls asleep again.
His emerald eyes
close,
hidden as if in
a Pharoah’s tomb.