by Lauren D.M. Smith
Yellow eyes,
Slit pupils,
Stare out from the darkness
Leaves that rustle,
Shadows twitch,
No winds blow through the night
Escaping,
Clouds move past,
The sliver moon appears
A bright line
In dark sky,
The reverse of those eyes
Tail swishes slowly,
The eyes stare,
The cat watches you move
Another cat,
And another
Come to sit, staring at you
Glowing eyes,
Stepping back,
The cats follow you
Turning back,
You move away,
Only to find more cats
Up in the skeleton
Trees, and on
The roofs of the abandoned houses
The cats gaze
Down at you,
Silhouetted against the night.
Bushes rustle,
Cats there too.
On the path, claws gouging the earth.
Shining bright,
Against the dark,
A curved menace, hidden by fur.
Everywhere
Yellow eyes
Staring straight into you
No escape,
Surrounded,
They slink slowly forward…