the heels of his poor man shoes
were each worn down
on the outside edge
and the laces were white string
knotted to where the black had broken
he looked ill at ease
a shabby enterprise
dismantled and put back together
way too many times
shy and uncomfortable
in a weird
slouched
off kilter kind of way
but the words he coaxed
when he finally read
strained through some dark reserve
intoned their way up out of his throat
and filled the room with music
erasing any sense of what
he was not
and as I listened
I swear he disappeared
and another cat
completely beyond description
took his place.
***
Wow