The Neighbor's Cat

Her names are many.

Queen of Midnight,

Killer of Beasts,

Mother of Legions,

Cari.

She is called Cari

because of the way she flows around objects in her path.

Rolling, light as a cloud,

Swirling,dark as smoke.

She carries with her shadows of her own making,

woven from the half-formed dreams of her victims.

She draws one out now,

draping it around herself,

disappearing into the night.

Moving silently through the darkness

like a giant sea creature gliding through water,

or the tiniest of dandelion seeds dancing through air.

No one knows where she goes,

or what exactly she does

in the darkness.

No one dares ask.

All I know

is every morning she is waiting outside my door.

I invite her in to share my breakfast.

She licks the butter off my toast

and waves her nose over my coffee.

Then she gives me an approving nudge with her head

and wraps her tail around my leg

as she heads for the door.

Stopping for a moment

she considers my dog.

She will allow him to live another day.

She is gracious in her mercy.

No one knows where she goes,

or what exactly she does

in the daylight.

No one dares ask.