Albany Poetry 
Workshop Logo

Guest Poet Valerie Ann Thomas


Return of the Kanukechmi


She scurried throughout the kitchen
With her echoing meow
Right into the bedroom....
Couldn't imagine what Samii was up to?
Oh, God! Not again!

She started to poke in and around
A mound of folded clothes
Strategically positioned
On the left hand side
Of my bed.

She kept poking, and poking further
But the pile of clothes
Collapsed on top of her,
Only to find her poking deeper,
And deeper inside.

I could only see
That from her hips
Back to the tip of her tail
With such intensity
That her hips
Did sway, sway, and sway
With such force
Until she finally got
Her catch of the day!

She glanced aside at me
As if to say
"I will do what you tell me To Obey!"
So without hesitation
She leaped off my bed
And with pride in fulfilling her duty
Managed to corner her opponent
In the bathroom
Beneath the window
Towards the bay.

Running along the baseboard,
From one end to the other end,
This cat and mouse game
Lasted for five minutes or so,
As if they were friends at play.
But after all that she did
The mouse had apparently
Outwit her match
And must have sneaked
Into an unnoticed hole
And did finally get away!

However,only twenty-four hours later,
The mouse that got away
Was eventually Samii's catch of the day!

June, 2001



Valerie Ann Thomas's Questions:

1. Can you tell that it really happened? It is a true story. And I had to witness it all!

2. Is a vivid description of Samii's persistence to finish the job?

3. Is it appropriate to read this poem at a poetry reading, perhaps?



APW Guests' Pages

APW Home