In Praise of Feral Felines – Poetry

A plumb line drops

(I know not where)

by which feral cats are judged

and marked ‘outside the bounds.’

I always saw their resistance to compassion

as a noble trait

along with their intemperate hisses

at attempts to conquest.

 

Feral, yes,

but less skulky than the shark

with its fin erect

and its teeth obscured.

Burnish me a reputation 

that allows for feline wild-ness

and I will bare for all

my teeth

and ruffled fur

Then slink behind some barn

and breathe a curse upon your home

with all its domesticated litter boxes

and countermanded claws 

–Alex Joyner