The Cat In The Mirror

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

How did you get in there?

Did a witch cast a spell- and oh!-

It rang clear as a bell?

Did you stumble into it, your paws all awry?

Did you jump into it, thinking you could fly?

Was someone stalking you, and you needed to hide?

Was someone mocking you, and you lept inside?

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

How do you move the same as I?

What a copy-cat, you,

To do whatever I do,

Why not use your own mind?

Do something on your own,

Or I’ll leave you all alone,

In this lonely room with no one to speak to,

Is that what you want?

I didn’t think so.

But annoy me furthermore, and I will,

But try not to flaunt,

Rambunctious you already are,

For you seem incapable of feeling low,

Tell me, dear, O cat in the Mirror,

What is it you treasure most?

Is it the little squeaky-mouse,

That you so often chase around the house,

Or the scrumptious master’s droppings of beef roast?

While I may be saying what I like to do,

the more I watch,

The more I see you like to, too,

The same is when I stand still,

You don’t move a muscle,

You stand strong as a hill,

Without a twitch- blink- rustle,

And how is it exactly,

That you have the same fur as me?

When I am happy you are happy,

And you always look clean?

Is this some master sorcery,

Some wizard’s incantation?

Something you agreed to,

With eager elation?

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Have you ever dreamed of going outside?

The plump leafy pillows,

The squirrels and birds galore,

With blowing wind for our fur to ride,

The tweets, chirps, squeaks of animals,

Easy targets for us,

A world of trees to climb on,

And that may be enough,

Better than being stuck here,

For who knows how long- forevermore?

How I long for the master to forget,

And maybe one day leave an open door…

Tell me dear, O cat in the mirror,

Why do you clean the way you do?

Your legs splayed out,

Your head hung down,

Licking harshly all over,

Have you ever felt like it’s a bit unsanitary,

The way you lick your paws?

The same paws that you walk on,

The ones sharp with claws,

Perhaps it’d be better to take a bath-But no!

The waters are much too frightening;

I’d be horror-stricken to be touched by such a thing-

I’d rather be shocked by lightning,

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Do have you a fear of water?

The way it makes my fur stick up,

Whenever it rains, and raindrops splatter,

I never touched a more horrid thing- no!

Its awful all the way through,

Getting between my eyes and nose,

And trust me; this is all true,

A glopping wet substance, water is,

If only it were more dry!

But alas, it is not,

I wish it would rot-

But all I can do about it is sigh,

The way it splashes between every crack,

and makes my fur splay around,

The way it drops on me one by one;

The way it makes my fur droop to the ground;

Oh!

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Isn’t sleep so wonderful?

How it makes me feel so energized upon waking;

Making me feel so powerful,

I can stretch in any direction;

My paws leaning off a chair,

Sometimes I will fall off from sleepiness,

But I land on my feet with flair,

I never met a more amazing thing, no,

Sleep outdoes all the rest;

When I wake up and stretch as I do,

I always feel so refreshed,

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Isn’t it nice to play?

While us cats treasure our rest,

Sometimes we need to chase things for a day,

I love the feeling of the adrenaline

Pulsing through my veins,

Like my soul was shrouded in darkness,

And suddenly there came a sunlit ray,

All feelings of sense leave me,

Hunting mode is on,

My eyes grow wide, my claws come out,

Until on me the right time dawns,

Licking my paws, pleased with myself,

I will keep my prey between my legs,

And you do too, I see you,

In the mirror behind the cobwebs,

How is it that you follow me from mirror to mirror,

No matter where I am?

Every time I reach that place,

You are there, and I flee like a young lamb,

Not this time, however,

This time I stand and talk;

Asking you questions upon questions-

Will they ever stop?

And so,

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Don’t you enjoy a warm cuddle?

When everything blacks out,

And I purr and meow,

All my thoughts muddled,

The warmth of master seeping into me,

Feeling like a true feline,

Hoping the time would last forever,

Torn between this and freedom,

My heart feels full,

And I make biscuits on the cover,

Hoping this time would never be over,

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Don’t you just love a good feed?

The food in my mouth,

So tasty and flavorful!

And when the feeder shakes I heed,

Except for once, when my master forgot,

And I took his arm in my teeth and bit him,

I led him to my empty bowl,

meowing, growling, hissing,

So he grabbed the scoop and fed me quickly,

Although later that day, I had felt guilty,

And at night I jumped into his bed,

Opening my mouth to lick him.

A soft purr began to escape my throat,

I felt reunited with him once again,

I began to lean on his warm chest,

Sleep coming all too soon,

I know you felt it too, for I saw you,

Watching me from the mirror across the room.

Now tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Don’t you just love Master?

If you could answer, I know what you’d say;

You love the sound of his laughter,

I know this because I do too,

And what I do,

You do too,

Though this observation leaves me feeling dafter,

His laughter is clear, pure, full of joy,

Like the pealing of a bell,

And when he’s grumpy, we stay away,

When will he be happy? Only time will tell,

When he’s sad I like to comfort him,

Purring against his legs until

He’ll drop, allowing me to sit in his lap,

And stroke me all along my back,

And when I feel he’s happy enough,

I’ll leave to jump onto the windowsill,

Watching the outside world intently,

Waiting, wondering, hoping gently,

So now tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Do you feel you know me well enough?

I feel as if,

After all these questions,

It would be impossible not to-

Wouldn’t it?

I have asked you so many things;

You must know about me,

Though I know nothing about you,

But I feel you want to be free,

I wish I could help,

But alas, I, too, am stuck,

So we can be stuck together;

For if we have each other,

We can stay here forever,

We will be taken care of by master;

He will not forsake us,

To the cold harshness of the world,

Where some things are good,

And some things are bad,

And everywhere you look, darkness unfurls,

Oh!

If only you could escape your glass prison,

Be free of this transparent cage,

Though I am thankful I am not the one trapped-

Just thinking of it spins me into a spiraling rage;

Suddenly I am gripped by a darkness-

A strong, violent fury it is,

Wishing to be free outdoors,

But having to be trapped instead,

Suddenly, the walls close around me,

I can barely take a breath;

My fur begins to stand on end,

My sanity clinging to me by a hair’s breadth,

I walk backward from you,

Listening to my pounding heart,

You walk away from me, too,

And that’s what made me start,

Sometimes a cat can lose herself,

And in this case, it’s never been more true,

I began to violently zoom around the house,

And in every mirror, I pass you,

I end up huddled under master’s bed,

Where a shattered mirror is hidden away,

I try to calm my racing heart,

Looking into the mirror where you lay,

You seem to stare into my very soul,

Trying to calm me down,

Is that even possible anymore?

In my ears there is a piercing, ringing sound,

I tuck my paws under my chest,

Breathing steadily in and out,

My eyes begin to become small again,

Though I feel as if I am carrying a load of clout,

I wish this feeling could leave me,

My senses feel out of sync,

I try to calm my breathing,

Try to stop and think,

I believe it may be working,

For my heart begins to slow,

In the mirror, you are lurking,

Like a vicious, furred shadow,

You are splintered into a thousand pieces,

At the right end at the top,

Your eye in one place, your ear in another,

So I move away from the area with the shatter,

I wish I had master’s comfort,

But at the moment, he is not here,

So here I lie alone,

With you,

In the darkness,

Waiting for him to come home,

But as I look at you I realize something,

Something I hadn’t seen before,

Something I only realized moments ago,

As I sat here on the floor…

Tell me, dear, O cat in the mirror,

Are you truly real?

For as I have said before,

You think what I think,

And you feel what I feel,

You move in a way so uncannily like I,

It begins to make me wonder,

How do we move at the exact same time?

Now I am truly flustered,

If I tilt my head and- aha!-

You do as well,

You begin to change my point of view,

For the more I look, the more you tell,

And so!

I have never heard your voice!

Why speak not, you?

Is your speak-box sealed?

With tape- sap- glue?

Why do you look, move, and copy

Everything I perform?

How is this possibly happening

Now my questions whirl in me like a wild storm;

How do you move like I?

How do you eat like I?

How do you look like I?

How do you- oh dear- clean like I?

And the more I look,

The more I see,

And- oh!

I am hit with a realization,

So immediate, so sudden,

Like many rocks pummeling me,

Dozen by dozen,

You are simply a reflection!

Now it all makes sense!

I feel silly to have asked so many questions,

I suppose I’m a bit dense,

No wonder you look so beautiful,

Each curled ear purrfectly groomed,

One paw white, one paw gray,

My fluffy tail like a huge plume,

I look closer to the mirror,

Shying away from the cracks,

I turn all the way around,

Then look over my back,

You, indeed, are turned too,

And I shake my fluffy tail,

We are the same, you and I,

Both our coats’ white, fluffy, and pale,

I begin to crawl out,

From under the darkness of the bed,

I feel all fear leaving me,

My faith restored once again,

Never again shall I be so foolish,

To talk to a reflection of myself,

Although…

As I look out into the garden,

I see a cat statue,

Their ears pointed as an elf’s.