Zoë, watching
Our feeding of the birds has given our cat, Zoë, a new form of entertainment. She sits in the chair in front of the glass of the door leading to the deck and watches. Her head swivels as each new arrival lands and selects its seed. All evening, the pupils in her eyes are as black as those of the little Flying Squirrels she sees outside the window.
The birds and squirrels know they are being watched but have decided the sphinx behind the window glass cannot harm them. For her part, Zoe knows she can only observe the antics around the feeder. She contents herself with the pantomime of predation.
~
~
strategic hyphenation
~
patience nestles into space
between edge-wise foliage
strategic paw-placement where
no dry-leaf crackle, dry-twig snap
disturbs the nothingness downwind
of furred-or-feathered prey
no tattling breeze
can carry scent-anticipation
nostril-expectation
to be pounced-upon
all muscle-twitch contained
in nervous, horizontal
flick-of-tail
~
~
© Jane Tims 2012
nichepoetryandprose 
Lovely squirrel drawings. The bottom two have got that look as if they’re sniffing the air & all set to bound off any second.
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Sonya Chasey
February 1, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Hi Sonya. They are very skittish and will run if I come too near the window. They also have to be constantly on the look-out for the three grey squirrels which are five times their size. I am glad you like the drawing. Jane
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jane tims
February 2, 2012 at 6:52 am
A superb cat’s-eye view! 🙂
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Watching Seasons
January 22, 2012 at 11:39 pm
I call it “Cat TV.” Our cats love to sit and watch the birds, too. They chatter at them occasionally. I love this phrase: “the pantomime of predation.”
Wonderful poem, photo, and drawing. 🙂
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Robin
January 21, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Cat-TV… that’s great. Thanks for pointing out the words you like… it helps me to know if certain words ‘work’. Have a great day!!! Jane
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jane tims
January 22, 2012 at 9:27 am
Our three cats love to sit and watch creatures in our yard too. You describe the movements (or lack thereof ) of the cat’s predatory nature perfectly!
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Carol Steel
January 18, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Zoe is almost as much fun to watch as the birds! Jane
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jane tims
January 19, 2012 at 9:05 pm