The Cat and the Blue Jay
I heard a terrible commotion,
On my patio one day,
There was a confrontation,
Between one cat and one Blue Jay.
Though unprovoked, the noisy Jay,
Issued forth a battle cry,
Its awful, raucous voice,
Made my cat open up one eye.
Then came more Blue Jay squawks,
The siege, now setting in,
The cat, now wide-eyed and alert,
Glued her two eyes on him.
The bird teased the cat unmercifully,
It sparred with her and danced around,
But the cat didn't flinch an inch,
I think she planned to stare it down.
Even closer came the Jay,
Louder, too, its shrieks and cries,
But, still unmoving was the cat,
I wondered, was she hypnotized?
Then, from inside my window,
I watched the scene unfold,
I'd put my money on the cat,
Except the Blue Jay seemed so bold.
"Go girl", I whispered softly,
Not that I wished to hurt the bird,
But I had to root for my team,
And, anyhow, I'd not been heard.
Suddenly, without warning,
I saw a flash of fur!
I heard a tiny bird's shrill call,
And I saw a bluish blur!
No, the cat did not get the bird,
She only got its pride,
Then, she brought me one blue feather,
And one broad smile she could not hide.
The shamefaced Blue Jay flew away,
It never did come back,
But I hear it taunting to this day,
In a tree far enough from the cat.
~Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
