Shadow Cat

The sky is dark, the patient shadows creep,

Hidden beneath the eaves, the black birds sigh

The silver city quiet, deep in sleep.

Black clouds wheel across the dark starlit sky.

The woman stands inside her freezing room,

Candlelight shines, shadows play on the wall.

Between her cold hands, a pallid light blooms,

Like sun through trees on a warm day in fall.

The light breaks, the candles flutter into night

The woman shivers, and peers all around.

Walking, a cat appears, its soft fur white.

A grey spot graces its head like a crown.

The cat steps forward, and mews, it's cry thin.

"So," it says, "Tell the story. Now, begin."