Dedicated to our Beautiful Kitten Kotya (aka Phoenix)

by Douglas Lanzo
Copyright 2020

First published in Academy of the Heart and Mind on November 9, 2020

Beloved of your masters,
bestowed with multiple names,
evincing prodigious personality,
invested in puerile games;

Transfixed by moving objects,
entranced by flashing light,
mesmerized by catnip,
enthralled by movement at night;

Scarce immune to admonition,
pouncing when and as you please,
expanding your recognition,
changing settings with pure ease;

Probing boundaries daily,
with soft and playful touch,
striking feathers overhead,
until secure within your clutch;

Prizing cozy relaxation,
from perches above the fray,
eschewing all other fancies,
napping indulgently each day;

Brimming with vim and vigor,
drawing crickets from their lairs,
offering sheer joy and inspiration,
meowing adorably down the stairs.