for Mom

Chonk cat, this dude, ginormous paws,
looks like our first kitty, Fluffy, also
black & white but a hulk of a cat,
my mother’s trusty companion.

Monster fluff, the Maine coons, and
Maxi is getting used to my weekly
appearances in the house where I
grew up that is clearly now his.

He is shy with me and runs if I
stand too close. But if I sit with
him on the living room floor at
a respectful distance, quietly, give

him a little time to remember that
I’m the Pat Lady, ready with fingers
to scritch both sides of his bushy face,
deliver some kitty massage to his

shoulder blades, he winds around
me like a fleecy lasso, pulling me tight
to his big guy heart. The woman who
taught my sister and me to raise

kittens and take in cats needing
homes—she’s got herself a goliath
of a keeper, who sits on her lap,
who leaps onto her legs as she sleeps,

his significant poundage weighing
her down until she moves. Then
he leaps off, only to return,
faithful fellow that he is, her

furry protector whom she adores,
who is equally devoted to her,
and, I have to admit, I’m rather
smitten with this colossal kitten, too.