Cats Poem by Claudia Moline

Cats

Why is it that painters
Can never paint cats
Well enough?
Is it that cats are elusive?
Do their piercing eyes
Hypnotize?
A painter can paint
A paw poised daintly
On the very border of the wall.
A painter can paint colour with care
And the four dark lines on the head,
and the whiskers
But a painter can´t paint
The padded warmth
Of a kitten´s playful touch
Nor the twitch of its vigilant ears,
Nor the call of distress when in pain,
Nor its purr and the delight
Of a furry belly caressed
Or of its leaping from high
And landing with grace
And walking away as if
It hadn´t been effort at all.
A painter can paint
The blackness of a black cat
And the greenness of its eyes
But he can´t make them speak
Like my cat´s eyes speak to me.