THE LAZY CAT

It curls its body around

Or straightens its back

Or squeeze its length

To have a resting nap

On the bed.

It purrs

Turning least to sound

To rest from a workless day

And wait for milk

Or meat

That I rarely bring.

It does not know

That this is Africa

And animals should hunt outside

And enter not people’s houses

Not even to rest on their beds.

It knows that I will pick the shoe

When it forgets the soil pit

Or turns the waste bucket

In its stubbornness.

It can only hunt sick rats

Or scare them by pumping

But not through a fight

As a wild cat.

I make it more lazy

When I allow it

Some food

Some company

Some accommodation