Poem: Encounter

Encounter

We saw a black cat outside my mother's house
when we were getting in our car
to drive back home tonight.
The cat ran away from the garage
when the door was opening,
and we thought it was gone,
thought it had scurried off
or hidden itself among shadows
as even cats not that black can do.
It did not, though, it was there,
was staring at us, sitting up
in the neighbor's drive-way.
It stood and let us look at it,
listened as we spoke
wanting it to come over,
to be our friend.  It just stood,
at least for a time,
then it walked off
as if it were bored
of our company.

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