Night Thieves

There were four of them
prowling in the damp shadows
of quiet suburban streets
their yellow eyes slowly blinking-
absorbing the hazy glow of night

They adopted the habit of their foes
and roamed in a pack
like slim and shimmering wolves

The neighborhood children feared them
these solid ghosts lurking the streets
these cats who could stare with silent eyes
and instantly
they knew all your secrets

They watched the children
at night through fogged windows
The cats could see the muffled dreams
cushioning the childrens sleeping heads
With one blink of their eyes
the dreams belonged to the cats

In early Autumn
a new girl moved to the neighborhood
In her leaf strewn yard
the other children circled her

They rolled up their pants
and took off their jackets
revealing thin red scratches
up and down their ruddy skin

In the dim shine of twilight
with hurried whispers
they told her the story of the cats

At night in her empty room
the moonlight cast shadows on her blank walls
outside her window
surrounded by the bleak night
cat eyes stared at her

when she woke the next morning
she couldn't remember any of her dreams

and she new her dreams
were inside the cats
mingling with the amputated dreams
of the other children

and inside her she felt an aching crush
because she missed those dreams
more than anything else in the world