Cat Greetings

Today's poem is inspired by a prompt to use a casual, conversational tone with at least one thing that would happen in a dream. A cat speaking in human words counts as something that would happen in a dream, right? 

 

Cat Greetings
By Candace Shultz

I open the door
and the first thing I see
is my cat sitting on the stairs
greeting me. "Welcome home!"
she says to me. "Hello kitty.
Were you waiting for me?"
I scratch her on the ears
and she trails behind me
like a shadow attached to my feet, 
talking to me the entire time
while I set down my purse, 
my water bottle, my phone.
I walk towards the bathroom,
and I close the door behind me,
and she reaches under the door
with her little paws, crying out
"Mom!" like a toddler child
who can't bear to be apart
from her mom for even a moment.
When I leave the bathroom,
she runs around me excitedly
until I finally settle in the rocker
in the living room, and then she
curls in a ball in my lap, cuddling me
as I rock us gently back and forth,
and the house becomes quiet
as we both close our eyes,
letting the gentle sway of the rocker
lead us into a slumber of dreams.