Now, For You

Now, for you, a sudden
odd companionship –
with its affectionate
and subtle grip –
this poignant bliss you feel
embracing, petting,
nudging and caressing you

in fluid liminality –
a rambling ghost
that coasts along
your brow, ears, eyes and lips –
a sweetness, after all,
which slips you out, away,
so you can stand to be

right here: a current
in the air: you needn’t
fear or fret. Today you took
an elderly and weakly
wobbling cat out to the vet.
His caterwauling
in the carrier reducing

to a mew quite broke
the heart in you.
But now, you hear,
they’ve given him a bath,
and feline penicillin,
intravenous fluid,
and you’ll pick him up

before too long and bring him
home – he probably
won’t last. Ah! – that
is what this fairy flit is doing –
rubbing with soft urgency
against your cheek –
just like a cat.

.