The phone rings late in the afternoon

She says she wants to see me tonight

I take another drink and contemplate the dance

 

Dark hair and a smile that cuts to the truth of the matter

Taking what she wants and leaving the rest

She turns over and draws the covers to her

 

And the damn cats look at me disapprovingly

I let them out to search for better company in the alley

She says, “Leave the bastards to the night and come back to bed.”

 

I can’t take my mind off them

seeking what they may in their wanderings

Prowling carelessly about in the dark

in the freedom of the furtive shadows

 

Perhaps visiting other astral planes

or consulting with the Old Gods

Who really knows?

 

Pulling at me from under the covers with impatience

“Are you going to stay here with me,

or do you want to join them?”, she says

Scratching the day’s stubble on my face,

I weigh the merits