Sam

Sam

My cat, Sam I Am

jumped into my lap

to get a few pets tonight

he and I, we're fast friends

He loves wholly

with the pure emotion

of a child

---arches his back

into my hands,

bumps his head

on my chin,

purrs a deep

diesel engine purr,

and kneads his paws

on my leg

I pet him with two hands

appreciating his company

enormously

I know he'll be my muse

later on tonight

and lend himself

to be in a poem

If you believe the notion

animals have souls

you look at them

more as you would

another human

rather than as something

somehow of less stature

in the eyes of nature

And Sam, well, he

gives love back

with every place

in his furry body

that his heart

pumps blood

It is good

to love that way

just ask Sam

Dewey Dirks