Come live with me and be my cat
And your soft belly I will pat,
From head to tail I’ll stroke your fur
While listening to your rumbling purr.
And when I sit upon the couch
Beside me you will sweetly crouch,
While outside snow falls to the ground
And cat-like, lands without a sound.
And I’ll spread toys throughout the house
A ball of yarn, a catnip mouse,
A feather dangling from a stick
For you to bat, your favorite trick.
And when it’s time to fill your dish
Your happiness my only wish,
I’ll open forty cans of food
Until I find what fits your mood.
And when you’re full and had your fun
You’ll curl up in a spot of sun,
And deeply sleep without a care
On what was once my favorite chair.
And when you stretch to your full size
And gaze at me and blink your eyes,
And wash your whiskers, face, and paws
I’ll greet each feat with wild applause.
And all the sofas you will shred
And take up nearly half the bed,
And sometimes throw up on the rug
To all of this, I’ll simply shrug.
And since you hate the vacuum’s roar
I will not use it anymore.
I’ll find another way to clean
That won’t upset my feline queen.
I’ll never call you Fluffy Toes
or BooBoo Kitty, Button Nose,
I’ll choose a name of dignity
That suits you like “Your Majesty.”
I’ll worship you as you deserve
If only you will let me serve.
On bended knee I’ll end this chat:
Come live with me and be my cat.
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Lesléa Newman has created 80 books for readers of all ages including the Headmistress poetry collections, I Carry My Mother, I Wish My Father, and Lovely. Her literary awards include poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, two National Jewish Book Awards, two Stonewall Honors, and the Massachusetts Book Award. From 2008 - 2010, she served as the poet laureate of Northampton, MA. Her newest book, Always Matt: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard, a book-length poem that celebrates Matthew Shepard’s life and legacy, will be published in September 2023 by Abrams ComicArts.
