Oral History

No one remembers when cats could become invisible
Except the cats.
They had the power to visit the world of spirits
Or the world of chasing food and protecting
Themselves which was so much easier when
A simple twitch of the breath let them
Disappear from sight.
These are the tales the old cats tell the kittens.
As they shelter themselves against the stormy
Days and secure themselves in tiny spaces
To wait until the night is safe.

In the first light of the morning
Before the sun before the stars
Have gone away. That is when they
Prowl—all the old memories guiding
Them—wet grass brushing against their
Whiskers—they smell the passing of
Mice, voles, chipmunks . . . they flatten their bodies
And glide through the brush remembering

Those ancient days when food would stumble right
Into their open, invisible mouths.