POETRY BY JACQUELYN
MALONE
THE CAT
It's such a hot evening,
my smart cat
sleeps in grass where there's been shade
all day. Elliptical and white,
she glows like a fallen galaxy.
Behind her stands a wall
of lilacs,
a shield against the sweeping bulk
of night. Now only obvious things
are visible -- the stars, my hand
near my face, the neighbor's
light
across the lake. Late,
when the neighbor's light goes out
and the stars bear down
with the malice of infinite
space,
I count on her faint light -- aware
as she is of the earth through
the delicate sensors in her paws.
Jacquelyn Malone
lives just outside of Boston
and has published in many print journals, including
Poetry Northwest, Sycamore Review, Cumberland Review,
Ploughshares, and the Boston Phoenix.
She has
been the recipient of a National Endowment
for the Arts grant.
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