Kanga

You came to us "Kanga"
though we wondered why
you were named after Milne's mother marsupial
& not her crafty son Roo. But boy, you bounced enough—
so your species namesake was actually apropos. Galloping
down the open hallway you came to me
at full tilt, sideways like a crab,
your eyes full on mine. Tail held high in greeting
you were My Cat.
Later, after fires, relocations, a year,
what must you have thought
at last borne home to a snowy Michigan?
We were so afraid
that you would die on busy Highway 1—
we couldn't take you with us to the trailer on 24th St. Ocean.
That's what we thought.

A Judge and his wife
finally rescued you from your feral, abandoned life at Coco Plum Terrace

taking you into the heart of Winter
and,
I hope,
Love.