Cats Do Not Trust Me Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

cats do not trust me.
they sense I can't stop looking at them
as if they were some kind of exotic dog.

they know I secretly want to throw the ball
for them and watch them scurry back with it.
really, I am their worst nightmare as far

as human beings go. well almost.
only once did a cat try to communicate with me.
a very plump and aged cat, a long suffering family

cat, on the deck next door to mine,
second floor. garden apartments.
Glumpy, (we'll call him that; it fits)

lay helpless on his back
oozing off of the side.

near him kneeled an exuberant little kid
a gleam in his eye
waiting to push our Glumpy off the balcony's end.

green eyes flashed a message
with which I empathized; cat telegram:
'God no, not again.'

mary angela douglas 5 april 2016