She won’t assimilate, needs no therapy.
Fake interest in others, mirroring with mirror.
Fleeting glance to be sure she’s gotten glimpses.
Cheeks, face, posterior plump.
Black cat peers at painter. He’s seen enough
of his mistress preening. He can out-stare her,
lick his paw, be nonchalant.
Finalist in Ekphrastic Cats Contest, published June 2022
Painting: Vanity, by Gustav Wertheimer (Austria) before 1904
