Animals

She'd once heard that there was more than one way to skin a cat
And she was utterly determined to skin this one.
It was a man, not a cat, but he moved like one,
A sleek creature winding through thick reeds
Of a lazy jungle river, hot breath mixed with
Steam rising off the slow-moving water.

He moved like that, deliberately feline, with low
Haunches, and eyes that saw everything
But revealed nothing, and she wanted to know more.
Because she was not like a cat at all, but all bitch,
Forceful, perceptive, controlling and sensual,
And she'd caught the scent of something wild.

She made all the moves, or so she thought,
Like a dog thinks with its yips and snarls,
While that cat of a man lay in wait,
Poised on an invisible fulcrum,
Still as lifelessness, but ready to spring
Should he desire, and watching his enemy.

They danced together there, in a senseless
Swirl that has endured for centuries,
One jumping and howling, the other
Hissing and stalking, but somehow,
With passion, drink, thrust and parry,
They'd come together to make fire.

How could it last? A dog and a cat.
Agendas opposed, styles in constant clash.
Does time matter? Do rules exist?
There is no rational explanation for
Irrational feelings and behaviors.
But they burn brightly in the moment.

Flowing Clear and Swift

She hadn't sat astride a horse in twenty years.
But its wide, curvaceous back, silk-spun,
Gently rising and falling with each breath,
Seemed warmly familiar.
She felt as a centaur, and it was
Both comforting and empowering.

Clambering slowly down the narrow,
They hugged the banks of the creek,
The same one she'd explored as a child,
But both had altered dramatically.
Years, cares, debris had left their mark.
Indelible? Inalterable? Inevitable?

How to loosen the clogs,
To restore freshness and flow,
Remove impurities, restore
Agility and progress?
Peel away the weeds and fog
To reveal beauty concealed?

As one, she, the horse, the water,
Stood together for a moment or
Hours, it seemed, and joined
To pray for this to happen,
To make it happen, to be once
Again what they once were.

A clean, fresh, swift flow that
Reflected the sunlight as jewels.

A muscular, mighty beast that
Governed soil and shrub and trail.

A radiant woman, glowing, who
Always galloped to the next horizon.