Cat And Squirrel Poem by Curtis Johnson

CAT AND SQUIRREL
By Curtis Johnson

The squirrel was in the tree, and the cat on the ground. There was nothing special about that scene except that on this particular spring morning in 2014, there was something different about the encounter that I was observing. The squirrel wanted down, the cat wanted up, and the cat seemed to be saying, “Only if you can get past me with the fight of your life”. And the squirrel? Why, I suspect that he was saying, “I’m in no hurry”. So, as far as I could tell, there was no dummy in the tree nor on the ground. Though it appeared that each wanted to determine the outcome of this standoff, I witnessed a lot of patience above and below.

The cat seemed relaxed, which seems to be the stance of most cats that I have ever observed. On the other hand, I have never witnessed a squirrel that I would say was relaxed, and that is quite a contrast from the cat. It seems that squirrels are constantly in the ‘run for your life mode”. Their eyes are constantly on the lookout for what might be lurking to do them harm; and their little tails seem to always be in “a state of wiggle”.

I observed, watched, and waited patiently just like the cat and squirrel. I don’t know how long the two of them had been in this stance before I appeared, but I watched from the front roe seat of my living room window for at least 10 minutes, hoping to see at least a good chase. The cat jumped up the tree trunk a few times and fell back down. I suspect he was either too old to climb the tree, or maybe he figured the squirrel was not worth the effort. Every time that the cat made a motion in his direction, the squirrel would simply go higher or jump to another limb. The squirrel did not seem worried in the least, as long as he stayed focused upon the cat.

My wait to see some kind of wild kingdom action was in vain, because the cat decided that his patience had run its course. So he slowly walked away. And of course the squirrel was now free and clear to go on its merry way

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