at my hip the cat purrs, paws curled, fur like velvet the stairs need another coat of paint I forget to check for ticks before my shower rain today, every other day rain my dresser & clothes smell of mold roar & swish of passing cars & trucks distant train horn, not the Vermonter, too early click, click, a bird, barely heard underneath all the sizzle & hiss of the stream last year dry from May to September time passes, I paint the stairs while the door stands open to allow me to paint the bottom steps not a single cat runs up them noisy sun, quiet clouds quieter rock piles hide in the wildflowers how might rocks & flowers play together? of course when I open the staircase door barely an hour after I finish painting to look at the pale green stairs one cat runs up, so I run up to grab the cat our footprints now part of history the rocks & flowers play outdoors without my interference