you’ve been there
for me,

when i needed
you the most.

and i know
not all stories
have happy endings—

but i’m not
quite ready
to say goodbye.

your love is
more pure
than any human
could imagine.

so when i looked
into your little eyes,

i promised
to give you
the best years

of your golden life.

we’ve been through
so much,

and truth is,
i still need
you in mine.

so i’ll hold
your paws
close to my heart—

because letting go
is the hardest part.

i’m not ready
to say goodbye.

so please,
stay with me

tonight.

worn-down paws
stepping forward
many consonants
create jagged ground
whose icy surface
cuts into paws

The snow is thawing on the field
its white perfection turning brown
as mud and sleet become congealed.
The snow is thawing on the field
and ochre footsteps are revealed
from Milley’s paw pads pressing down.
The snow is thawing on the field
its white perfection turning brown

Dear pussycat, you clever little beast
To hide the paws that hid the claws
That shred my pretty face.

Feline, fooled as I was to forget
Within your blood wildness simmered
Just beneath the folds and crease;

Of eyes that looked asleep!

Huntress
by Michael R. Burch

after Baudelaire

Lynx-eyed, cat-like and cruel, you creep
across a crevice dropping deep
into a dark and doomed domain.
Your claws are sheathed. You smile, insane.
Rain falls upon your path, and pain
pours down. Your paws are pierced. You pause
and heed the oft-lamented laws
which bid you not begin again
till night returns. You wail like wind,
the sighing of a soul for sin,
and give up hunting for a heart.
Till sunset falls again, depart,
though hate and hunger urge you—On!
Heed, hearts, your hope—the break of dawn.

Originally published by Sonnetto Poesia. Keywords/Tags: Baudelaire, cat, catlike, cruel, creep, creeping, claws, paws, talons, huntress, heart, prey, hate, hunger, alliteration, sonnet

I remember you as a fluffy furball
As I gave you the first baby bath.

Made you sit & stand- as ya learnt 'em all
Oh! with you- it wasn't an easy path!

So well grown up, now past 4 years I recall.
Though calm & gentle, the time
rows fast.

Will it ever be the same midst all these brawl?
Never will it be- since things ran 'south'!

May be far- we will always, love you Pal.
Happier you wag & stronger gets your health!

Red fox runs across
Rocks carpeted with moss, leaves
Paws move like the Spring.

If I had a cause,
I would work for the paws,
I'm for animal liberation,
End that experimentation,
Who made us gods of them?
Power corrupts, ahem,
Yes, if I had a cause,
I would work for the paws......