Midnight at the computer
An A. M. deadline
My cat keeps close watch
Muscles drawn taut, motionless
But for twitch of tail
Tremor in eye matching my hand movements

I tell her no time, no play
But a higher power speaks louder
An inherent habit of hunt
commands her to come in for the kill
Continually

I’d blow my deadline
before offending the feline Deity
So I put on a shredded gardening glove
And continue to maneuver clumsily
the computer’s right hand
Cursing the person who told her
it was a mouse