Shadow Paws: A Black Cat’s Query

Miscellaneous Poems

May 2

Shadow Paws: A Black Cat’s Query

In moonlit alleys, I, Shadow Paws, do roam,

A sable coat, a specter in the gloom,

Yet humans cross the street, their hearts like stone—

Do they fear my eyes, twin lanterns in the doom?

My friends, the tabby and the ginger stray,

Are fed with scraps, their fur a canvas for hands,

While I, unseen, slink through the twilight’s gray,

Am I cursed, a witch’s pet from haunted lands?

The little humans, with their laughter bright,

Will coo and call, their tiny fingers bold,

They stroke my back, a fleeting spark of light—

But why do elders shudder, their tales so cold?

Oh, fickle fate, I purr beneath the stars,

A black cat’s luck, they say, brings dire dismay,

Yet in my heart, I dream of fish in jars,

And wonder—do they flee because I’m purr-se?

By: Your Ghostly Guide, the Keeper of Gothic Dust Diaries with whispers from Grok, xAI

Rita Kartalyan

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI “GOBLIN MARKET”