The Cat Maiden's Regrets
(Author:
Bob Kanefsky)
Here I sit bored on the fireside mat,
Taken for granted by those around.
No one has any respect for a cat,
And some old hag’s magic has made me just that.
In a cat skin I am bound.
Why can’t I be a woman again?
Why must I be a cat?
Out through the window or in through the door,
They toss me or carry me where they please.
Claiming my place on the cushion or floor,
They sit where they like, and it’s making me sore.
I hope they get some of my fleas!
Why can’t I be a woman again?
Why must I be a cat?
Once I was human, an ungrateful maid.
Now I’ve been changed to a mangy cat,
Plaything of others and ill repaid:
They took me downtown and they just had me spayed.
Now I just mope and grow fat.
Why can’t I be a woman again?
Why must I be a cat?
Curse that old biddy who taught me the knack
Of magically shifting my shape at will.
Now that the voice of a human I lack
I can’t say the words that will change myself back.
... Nor pay the old wise woman's bill!
Why can’t I be a woman again?
Why must I be a cat?
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