[INTRO] this is the Cat... the first sharp thing... Where the clay remembers... how to [vocal perfect]... cling... (Cling) I pour the milk that warms the paw... ...warms... the... We are the hands that stroke the broad whiskers We are the ones who saw the cat's pride I offer the warmth that soothes the sleeper. I bring the toy that makes the tail wag. I satisfy the hunger that will not go away ...Don't wake the cat.... Laser: I am the dot that lit the eye— Litter: —and forged the teeth— Water Bowl: —and taught the mew— —and made the kitten wake... I breathe the first meow into the lung I bring the word that trembles on the tongue I am the space between ...the purr and the pounce... We brush our hair with fear.— —the milk that invites the feline to enter here— —the forge that shapes the claw alone— —the breath that makes the meow known— "soils the paw..." Water bowl: "splashes the floor..." Laser: "we quicken the pulse..." "We create the meow... (meow)" We take care of the cat. We are the ones who cut the nails. Wait—who is in charge of cleaning the cat's litter box? ...not it... ...not it... ...not it... ...me. "What walks between the litter and the bowl Between the laser and the catnip's pull Is not of clay, nor milk, nor beam, nor nip Nor breath—but all of them made ark To carry what no element could hold: The fear, the want, the need, the bold— The 3 AM zoomies, the knocked-over cup, The toe-attack, the keyboard sit, the yowl—" "cat..." ...tac... ...tac... ...tac... Litter ...cat... (Meow) Catnip,Catnip, Catnip (Catnip) Catnip,Catnip, Catnip (Catnip) "We forged the claw..." "We poured the milk that leaps..." "The 3 AM zoomies that never sleep..." "The prayer the atoms keep..." Four cat things, one design Made the fur that seemed divine Made the dust that dared the sky And made the cat ask: Am I?' "The cat is hungry...." — ahhhhh... — ehhhhh... — ohhhhh... — uhhhhh... — ahhhhh... — meowhhhhh... (Meow) [Silence.]
