Benjamin Harnett
Cat Lick Cheese
Cat Lick Cheese
A still life with nothing still
about it. A Dutch master
might do justice
to the plenty on our counter,
while hiding some jape
in the corner, a shadow
that looks like a skull,
or a bone bleached and out
of place. The cat
is up among the dishes;
we all turn to see
the daintiness of her tongue
alizarin and pink,
unfurling and furling back
a taste of the sweat upon
the flat yellow of the block
of cheese. Such is the tableau
vivant our living makes,
too perfect to shoo.
I would like to find profundity,
but the heart-stopping beauty
of that joyous, perfect
lick, out of bounds, but
allowed, will have to do:
the cat lick cheese
and you.
Benjamin Harnett is a poet, fiction writer, historian, and digital engineer. His poetry has appeared recently in Poet Lore, Saranac Review, ENTROPY, and the Evansville Review. He is the author of the novel THE HAPPY VALLEY and the short story collection GIGANTIC. He lives in Cherry Valley, NY with his wife Toni and their collection of eccentric pets. He works for The New York Times.