My tabby cat
Is ensuring our survival,
Bringing sacrifices of small rodents
From the garden.
No morsel for his appetite,
He places them reverently
On the stone in the ancient way,
Where the sun dries them and the ants
Take them away bit by bit,
Leaving only bleached bones
And a smattering of fur.
He knows, my tabby,
That, for all my enlightenment,
I have forgotten
That the cosmos must be renewed,
And I wonder sometimes
If, by the diligence of my tabby,
Rodents will someday
Replace us in the world.
© 2001, C. L. McGinley
(This selection may be found in Purple Roses and Other Poems by C. L. McGinley and The Pagan’s Muse, edited by Jane Raeburn.)
