The Cat’s Shadow (free verse)
I am the cat’s shadow
who sleeps on a pillow
I must mirror her precisely
but how I wish I could tell her concisely:
“I want to go crazy,
don’t be so lazy,
let’s jump and play
like children on summer days,”
but there still she stays
so I run away from that stray
I am free to do whatever I please
roll on the grass beneath the trees,
wade in the river
so cold it makes me shiver,
and listen to the songbird’s melody
Other shadows burn with jealousy
but soon the day is over
I can’t find a four-leaf clover
as darkness comes along
the nightingales sang their song
I slowly merge into the night
it feels like frostbite
Into the blackness I blend
I guess all good things must come to an end.