Butch the Mercurial Cat The cat, a tabby gray, his coat a watered silk, long whiskers, yellow eyed. Oh! how that cat loves milk. A boy gives Butch his milk inside a castoff pipe, the pipe a whisker small for Butch the milk to swipe. Yet, thirsty Tabby slides into the narrow hall, a curling wisp of smoke, Butch somehow growing small. Like brother Cheshire Cat, Butch has his bag of tricks. A little magic act that he does just for kicks. Peering within the pipe, the boy upon the ground: a pair of yellow eyes! Somehow-- Tabby has turned around. A float of tabby tail, then into thinnest air, without the slightest sound, Butch isn't there! First published, Inside Apples, US and Europe © 2012 Leland James The Secret Naming of Cats “Effanineffable/Deep and inscrutable singular Name.” —from “The Naming Of Cats,” T.S. Eliot If God were an author, Man would be his War and Peace The cat, his “Kubla Khan” —secretly named Xanadu! © 2013 Leland James Jack of the Jungle Jack of the jungle. Jack the cat. Jack of the jungle. Jack, Jack, Jack. Jack of the jungle, right out back. Jack of the jungle, birds beware. Jack of the jungle, yellow hair. Jack of the jungle, tiger‘s lair. Jack in the garden lies in wait. Jack in the garden by the gate. Jack in the garden, half past eight— Jack by the fireside. Milk to lap. Jack by the fireside purrs in lap. Jack by the fireside. Jack, Jack, Jack. © 2013 Leland James |