Half-states
Stacy Link
Silver dollar eucalyptus leaves
filter afternoon sunlight
into shimmering flickers
light and dark.
Cat on the sill
indolent, liquid repose.
Soaking in, radiating out.
Undulating butterscotch fur
the cat sighs, flicks his tale.
Grey-green cats eyes
half closed, lounging.
Assured of his place, still.
He dreams
his whiskers twitch
his paws shake,
his belly rolls.
A silent, light breeze
moves the branches
in an ever changing picture
inviting reverie.
Grey-green leaves, bisected
circles with red stems
flutter, insistent.
They canīt rest, they have
secret lives. How could they not
with nectar-red veins?
The cat is half-dreaming, half-awake
like the shimmering half light
coming in through the afternoon window
Half-states, dreaming
waking, light-dark
nectar red and grey-green
The light fades
The dream shifts
The breeze stills
The leaves become motionless shadows,
The dream stops and the cat awakes.