Butterscotch Tabbies

Two
clothed
tabbies
anxiously
gaze through frozen frames
painted likenesses imagine
existence clawing furniture, growling and hissing
at strangers, licking paws, grooming,
pissing in litter
rather than
hanging
on
walls.

Perched
high
upon
living room
hutch’s cabinets
the feline fatals glance down
at silk flower baskets, inspects it for slinking snakes,
silver-dollar-size cock roaches,
chameleon lizards,
mice, any
excuse
to
roar.