Stillness at Five a.m.

Darkness

Punctured by small dots of light from a tall wood cabinet, where sits the Christmas tree; its light source: hundreds of tiny fiber optic bursts that spring forth in pulsating sparkles… waves of colors each one melts into its successor.

It sits high for a reason- the small gray

Kitten perched in my lap sucking my arm because she thinks I’m her mother.

She closes her eyes to knead my thigh and continues until I remove her once

Again. The shelter said she was found alone on the street, brought in by a kind-hearted stranger, for safety. She came to me not long

After, meant to be a companion for my huge orange Tabby whose recalcitrant sister, my longed-for Calico, had suffered the fate of many a feline that refuses to live a comfortable life indoors. But

For now, Lady Jane Grey watches the patterns of light from the tree cast an undulating kaleidoscope of colors, high on the tall ceiling…perhaps a source of

Torment to her tiny cat brain.

Jane sleeps and I sip coffee, ready to start a new day.