The Barn-cat's Ballad

Hedge was wet, wet was cold
My dinner thoughts were growing old
I stepped out to catch a mouse
The garden of that darkened house

I struck late, maybe slow
Here on the ground it's hard to know
There I sat, there to think
There in my eye I had to blink

Light that flicks, even flame
Food and warmth and maybe — name?
Look inside. Find a treat
A friendly home and place to meet

Friendly hand, safety found
And answered with a purring sound
Here I thought as I lay
Here's a lovely place to stay

Seasons passed as they must
That well-lit house I came to trust
Dinner dish. Scratch my chin
And sometimes I could walk right in

Sometimes well ... she's gone away
My need must hunt in other ways
Once again, light that flicks
I run back home all double quick

Different now. Doggy noise
The house is filled with doggy toys
Still dinner. Still the dish
The scratching of my chin I miss

Now I hide — barking sounds
And stranger smells on my home grounds
Should I stay? Should I go?
Under the hedge it's hard to know

All's the same. Maybe not
Here in the hedge is all I've got
Hedge is wet. Wet is cold
Here in the hedge I lay down, old.