Cat

My body sat on the swing quietly one night,

My mind it’s only companion, wandering the lair,

Of my thoughts, and suddenly- cold fright!

An empty swing glides gracefully through the still air.

On cue, a crow croaked,

Waves of cold my body soaked,

Why is it suddenly freezing?

And then I heard it, a sickly wheezing.

I could have sworn I saw something there somewhere!

Yet, when I looked, there was nobody there.

The crow moaned, a black cat waltzed by,

It stopped. Slowly twisted its head, as if shy,

And fixed me with an evil gaze,

Then the lights went out in a cold dark haze.

I felt, in every nerve and sinew and vein,

The kind of fear that drives men insane,

Exept maybe, it was there all along,

Building up inside me like a slow song.

Whence came this unwanted notion?

Oh who’s this? I see some motion.

The lights came back, but they, they were different this time

Spewing rays of malice that coalesced with the shadows,

As the swing hit the side with a chime.

I stood there, rooted in fear,

Stabbing my a heart like a spear,

Move I did, thanks to the reptilian part of me

As the part that reasons drowned in the sea

Of fear, and as I reached my home,

I looked back to see a pair of eyes,

 Shining like precious stones,

The silhouette of the cat’s face made me scream,

It wasn’t over, it seemed.

That night I woke up, bathed in sweat,
Slimy worms slithered on the floor to make it wet,

There was only thing I remember from the nightmare,

The black cat and it’s evil stare.

To escape this all, I sought religion,

I meditated, and used psychedelics to get crazy visions,

Desperately seeking some relief,

From the idea that fear is our deepest seed.

Seconds became months, months became years,

In my solitude I conquered all my fears,

Enlightenment beckoned from the distance

Nightmares and black cats ceased their existence,

I saw angels float serenely in the air,

Mesmerizing beauty shine everywhere,

The ultimate truth, I searched

Where everything that ever was and is, converged.

I took a deep breath,

and closed my eyes,

Preparing for the truth

To let go of lies,

An image flickered,

I knew it well.

It was the evil stare of the cat from hell.


-Fateh Singh Mann
4th Year, Mech