I thought I saw a little cat
sleeping in the end grain of the wood,
glinting orange as coals,
a little gray around the edges,
but my camera couldn’t catch it,
focusing instead
on the licking lights

And then the image faded from the wood face
and the warmth that filled the room
during the roaring of the fire
kept getting sucked out
to the coldness of the night.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 25, 2020