the sunbeam

I gave in today.
There she lay in the warm
golden wash of light, her small
sleek body stretched out, every
fine hair and every pore drinking
drinking like a tree in summer.
You could almost believe that it
was possible to live on sunlight,
that she'd discovered the secret
and transcended her mammal
flesh to become one with the light.

I lay down beside her. She
didn't so much as twitch, even when
I put my hand on her belly, felt
the slow heat of sun and cat married
amidst the fur. The glowing red
universe behind my eyelids was
full of secrets. My toes began to
warm. I could smell the oil and faint
shampoo smell of my hair, everything
about me became unwound, released
by the heat, the light, the silence.