Paying attention
to what the cat sees in you
is better than worrying
that your failures have made you
into a werewolf.

No point
in wasting the whole day waiting
for nightfall and the heavy moon
to fool you into horror at your changed self,
into treating yourself to absolute guilt.

Look, he’s rubbing your leg,
asking for food or a thorough scratch.
You are his understanding of love and order,

and when you respond,
reaching down
from your desperate seat on the couch
to lift him up
and offer what he is asking for,

you are that. Trust him.  He knows
more of the truth about you
than you have allowed yourself to know.

If you could say
"April Fool"
to someone in your world
once a day
every day,

knowing that it would
make everything
right between you,
even if only for
that moment,

which of the many lies you tell
out of habit
just to get by
would you choose
to disclose?