Unrequited Poem by Glen Kappy

from "Curious Creatures"

Our granddaughter
with that natural love
young children have
for smaller creatures

likes to heft our cat
(head to tail
about as long as her
and weighty for her size)

against her breast—
his head facing outward
sprawled and struggling
against her affection.

So when she shows up
for a visit
and he spots her
he runs, hides, or—

the way safe
the weather tolerable—
signals his preference
by waiting by the door.