Poem 2

Creatures roamed the hallways,

With piercing eyes and creaking

Jaws that snapped like the wiry

Limbs of an aging, weathered tree.

Merciless, unyielding, bellowing.

There was a large open door

At the end of the hallway,

A beacon in the overgrowth.

I rushed inside, pawsteps

Quick and light as the

Creatures slowed to a halt.

They were far too large,

Sheer sizes looming over

The doorway, daunting.

I breathed out, unsteady.

...

Suddenly, there was

An abrupt voice.

A shrill ringing of a

Dial tone, hefty and

Loud, boisterous in

Every wrong way.

That is what this

Small, half-white

And half-black

Bear sounded like.

I felt a rising dread

When I noticed this

Strange bear was

Still taller than me.

He stared blankly

At first, before

Hastily seething.

...

The words rolling off

His tongue sounded

Ill-intended and brash.

"What is a cat doing

In my territory, are you

A spy or something?"

His glare seemed to

Be accusatory, but

He spoke the same

Foreign language

Those people did.

I tilted my chin at him,

Paws firmly planted

And fuzzy ears flicking.

The bear hardly

Twitched as he

Stood stone still.

Silence drowned

The hollow air.

...

His next spoken

Words were as

Sudden as before.

"Well, whatever.

You clearly can't

Understand me."

He drew back,

Hostility lower.

Other voices came

From behind me,

My fur standing up

As I stiffened.

"Pops, what's

Going on here?"

Four cubs, all

Different colors.

"Oh look, a kitty!"

This was all

Quite strange.

"How did a cat

Get in here?"

My limbs unfroze

And I casted a

Glance towards

The doorway.

Taunting and

Oh-so tempting.

"Can we keep her,

Pretty please?"

I took a step forward.

"How can you tell

That cat's a she?"

They were speaking

Amongst themselves

In their cryptic tongue.

They won't notice.

"It's obvious to me."

One more step.

"If you say so."

I broke into a sprint.

...

Run and hide.

Don't forget those

Blood-stained alleys.

Don't share their fate.