Three Cats

Three cats, three friends passing by,
attracted by a bird’s song.

Time had frozen, the cats thought,
or the man had, and his dogs.

Two caged birds interrupted
the silence of that still life.

Grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt,
a black crow croaked, unheeded.

A small, bright-liveried finch
appealed to them, and they stopped.

It sang so beautifully,
but its song did not last long.

The frozen menagerie
was silent: the cats went on.