Feet

Like a mountain stream in flood

comes the rush of feline feet,

tumbling over themselves

as over rocks and boulders,

chasing some elusive dream

in the form of an apple

fallen early from the tree

and brought inside to be batted about

around chairs and table legs

and under chests of drawers

until, at last, the energy spent,

both stream and feline seem calm

in the broad, shallow basin of

the plain and counterpane.

          © Valerie Laura

          12 February 1997