Late afternoon, early winter
Shadows lie heavy
Across this old wooden floor

In sleep, my cat’s ear twitches
Pulling in his paws a little
Oblivion

Feeling his fierce softness
Sunlight between the shadows
Seems to brighten

Then it’s just this old familiar ringing
That always comes
when I am still

---

Matthew lives in Maine in the fall, winter, and spring. He wishes more of his family lived nearby, and his cat, Mephistopheles, who is a great hunter and a compassionate comforter, and inspires simply by doing nothing.