What the Cat Brought Home
Here, outside the front door
in 4:00 a.m. porch light, splayed
on its back and gnawed
through its heart,
the frog I’ve talked with
from our backyard pond, keeper
of secrets and reminder that,
each Spring, green things return
to life, camouflaged croaker
of dark’s mysteries, proof
that those we love
do not always love what we do,
every purr has fangs, and gifts
can come at terrible cost.
Anita Skeen is a professor in Residential College in Arts and Humanities at MSU and the Director of the Center for Poetry. She is the author of five volumes of poetry including the most recent, “Never the Whole Story” published by MSU Press. The new poetry is on a national best sellers list. She will be doing a poetry reading Tuesday April 19 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Snyder-Phillips Hall on the campus of MSU.
