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She sits on the windowsill, staring out
into the sunny day, wishing she
could be like her cousins,
the tigers, the lions, the leopards.
Her markings are like that of her
ancestors, rosettes like the leopard
cover her coat, shining like
a hummingbird's iridescent feathers.
She stands, stretches out her long,
slender body.
She jumps to the floor with
the great agility of the cat.
She jumps to a small shelf
attached to the wall, the perfect
size for a small, agile feline.
She jumps up higher on shelves
like this, extending her lithe body each time.
She lands on top of her tall cat
scratcher, scanning her
territory from above.
A feather on a stick catches her eye,
following its every twist and turn.
She crouches, then
waits to make her move.
The feather stops on the ground,
and she pounces,
extending her legs and spine
to their greatest length.
Her long, extensible tail
keeps her balanced as she
glides through the air
and dives to the ground.
She pins the feather under
her delicate paw.
The feather escapes her grasp
and begins to dance about her head.
She sits back on her hind
legs, swatting at it
with her elegant paws
as if it were a buzzing fly.
Finally, she tires of this play
and strides to her owner,
meowing, demanding attention.
He bends down to stroke
her, and she purrs in pleasure.
She steps to her
warm, cozy bed
for a short cat nap,
to be ready to
play agin
when she wakes.
