at dusk in the alley behind your house

at dusk in the alley behind your house

while waiting for you to come out

I petted a gray cat that rolled around in the dust

and even managed to pick him up

for a cuddle that was quick because

oncoming headlights suddenly spot lit us

so I set my feline friend down on the gravel

and as that car trundled past he leapt out of the puzzle

to watch from another parked car’s roof

as I walked off and then back to introduce him to you

and then still as us humans left together

to recombine our pieces into something better