Yowling

Ed's wife found a sinkhole

in the yard a year ago

a foot wide, several feet deep

and she wanted it filled.

No problem said Ed.

The sinkhole is hidden 

behind a big bush 

next to their garage.  

Sometimes a feral cat, 

good as its eyes may be,

falls into the hole at night,

never to come out.

The yowling can go on

longer than a week.

Neighbors around 

Ed’s stockade fence 

ask where the yowling

is coming from and Ed 

asks them if they

have a cat in heat.

They always say no

and the questions stop.

Meanwhile, feral cats, 

once a plague in Ed's yard,

no longer crouch

in the foliage and leap 

to pluck robins and 

cardinals out of the air.

Birds can worship now

at Ed’s suet and feeders, 

wipe their beaks in peace,

serenaded at times

by the yowling.

Donal Mahoney