The Cat

The cat does not like
To spend the night alone,
Preferring instead to create
a cat bed by leaning into
my bent legs at the back of the knee.

We sleep together this way
Most nights, and have done so
These past five years since
Being cast from the family home.
Two vagrants, comrades by necessity

However
We do not always sleep together
We do not always sleep alone
Occasionally we have a guest
And the cat finds himself
With new sleeping arrangements

And occasionally I sleep
Somewhere else, and he is left to
His own devices. He is lonely, having gotten used
To my warmth, the white noise of my snoring
He doesn't understand my need for others

He thinks all we need is each other
It's a perfect life as long as I'm home
Each night. But I long for something else
I want to nest in someone's bends
The same way he nests in mine.