Lullaby for a Cat

Lullaby for a Cat

Sleep, little one, and let the night
Go thrashing on, a world away.
Headlights that spike your kind with fright,
Black tires that hunt for smaller prey
May not come here.

Be still. The shadow-things that creep;
Long fangs that cut; dark human forms
That kidnap, and the deadly sleep
That needles bring; black thunderstorms
May not come here.

There will be places you may go
Where you will need a sleep that faces
All your darkness down. I know,
For I have walked in shadowed places
Far, far from here.

Then sleep, though nights of growling dark
Lie but a window-thickness near.
Fangs of the night may leave no mark
On us, and we may smile at fear
While we are here.

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