Vanquished from the Catbird's Seat
BY R.W. O'ROURKE I JUNE 29, 2008
The gaping door, the swinging perch,
No chirping to be heard.
Esther saw the cage was light...
By just about one bird.
No ripple in the water dish,
Nor feathers in the bed.
No scattered hulls of mangled seeds,
The paper barely read.
The worry planted deep within
Now grew on Esther's face.
Hope just dangled, silently,
Consuming time and space.
Until the cat came skulking by,
A shadow in his jaw;
(Esther hates when answers beat
The questions to the draw.)
While cornered on the stairwell rug,
Perplexed, he cocked his head.
A look proclaimed his innocence,
His tail betrayed the dread.
Esther matched him gaze for gaze;
Eternities transpired.
His mouth was full, he couldn't speak,
"What leg?" his eyes inquired.
