his eyes pierce me
like two additional claws he's grown
through evolution and survival of the fittest
in this house
with the two additions that have joined us.
but today,
we get a moment by the fire,
mama at work
baby asleep,
so he lays out
like he's posing for his cover issue of Modern Cat
and I can see the envy in the
green of his eyes,
his pupil a tiny island
being consumed by a sea of jealousy.
his back arches and he rolls back
and forth
on the rug covered in his fur
as I scratch all his favorite
and recently neglected spots.
I stop his tail from whipping
into the flames
and whisper to him
about our days past
and the nights
where he was my
only companion
and we would talk until our eyes closed,
his wet nose rubs against my arm
while I whisper
and it feels like reminiscence.
I do my best to explain
how we've upgraded
and created a family now
but his scathing meows in response
prove
we're on different pages.
"Shh, you'll wake the baby."
I say.
this, we can agree on.
so, we set our differences aside
and watch the flames flicker off each other's faces
remembering nothing but
the current moment.