Some Moody Blues and the Cat on My Lap

All the things I thought would be

By Tom Mueller 

All the things I thought would be
In this life I just don't see
Like shadows shifting in the night
They dance and taunt my drifting mind

The path not taken, decisions long made
Haunt my thoughts in night and day
Decisions not wrong, regret is not here
But what have I missed? That is my fear

Life is good and filled with friends
But shallow the feel, no depth without end
Boundaries limit the intimate chats
Borders unseen, yet real as these cats

I don’t like cats, yet here they lay
On my desk, on my lap, all bloody day
Throwing up dander to clog up my nose
Demanding attention, curtailing my prose
Yet cats we have, night and day here
Prowling about, always so near

I stepped on one once, accidentally so
Now she meows when near her I go

Perhaps that’s the value these critters provide
Distracting us when our outlook gets fried
Comic relief from emotional throes
Lifting the mood of this very prose

November 2023