MAIL CARRIER / ZIGGY EDWARDS

Walking past steep porches,
you sometimes whistle
and a cat’s face appears
beneath the bushes
like a four-leaf clover.

Squat, extend your hand,
pointing your index finger.
Stay still, look in his eyes.

This is the lesson I have to give
as your father.

Within a few seconds
the cat will come,
if he’s going to at all.

Ziggy Edwards lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Her poems and short stories have appeared in magazines including 5 a.m., Illumens, Main Street Rag, Paper Street, and Ship of Fools. You can order her 2006 chapbook, Hope’s White Shoes, by emailing withapen@yahoo.com.