Lady, my cat,
my pretty familiar,
proud as jade and careful as calipers,
cat of my clan who kept your distance
even from me, whom you seldom allowed
out of the sight of your yellow eyes,
martyr for my sake who yielded to games
at the hands of the children, grabbing for love,
you waited your chance for the cool evasion,
some slick maneuver that smacked of wit,
no outright getaway. The dolphin's tricks
were not sleeker than yours, slipping from fingers,
my elegant relative, my gentle cat.
You're clean gone now,
as certain as earth.