The cat knows the rules
about being on counters and tables
but her greatest joy in life
appears to be breaking them
when we aren’t looking.
She leaves traces of evidence
for us to find.
Because butter is better
when left out at room temperature,
the soft yellow stick sits
in its dish on the counter.
The first time we noticed
the strange indentation
in one of the corners,
we thought it might have melted
a little or the other one of us
swiped some toast directly onto it,
too busy to grab a knife.
The second time, we noticed tiny grooves
and remembered the scratchy texture
of our cat’s tongue when she gifts us
an affectionate lick we pretend
to appreciate. Now it’s clear.
She stares us down and her eyes ask
what are you going to do about it?
The answer is nothing.
We know who holds the power
in this house. We have accepted
that we’ll be eating too-cold
unspreadable butter from the fridge.
And every morning, a new dent
will appear in her stick of butter on the counter.
