Another Day

Softly she treads, and the tall wet grasses
Shed their tiny bright lanterns of dew;
Gently they bend and, as she passes,
Swaying, they rustle in the cold dawn wind.
Silvered and shimmering, the cobwebs break.
Stones, now shining in the first low sun,
Strike cold, as velvet padded footsteps make
Dark markings on the misted lawn.
Slowly the sun, making clear straight shadows,
Warms the earth; yet anxiously she waits,
Poised, startled by petals of a faded rose.
Fearful, she stares, eyes gleaming in the night.
Half-wild she lives, this cat; she has no name,
Beautiful, timid, untrusting, afraid.
Expecting nothing, she makes no claim.
Watching her there in the dawn, I could weep.

Jane Stay

And Another

Weep not Jane Stay for she who has no name
But share her joy! Admire her agile frame!
Somewhere, unknown to you, she has a bed,
Maybe beneath some old, discarded shed.
There in the warmth of love her kitts she'll raise
Purring to them her mother-song of praise.
In Nature's way she walks her daily path
Nearer to God than any by your hearth.

Nokomis