The cat approached the baby first,
unprompted, I’m told. This kicked off
a wild ride:
            grab, roll, stretch, grunt, crawl, wiggle, grab, stare…  

The gray belly-fur is so soft, who
could resist curling her fingers deep within it?
            roll, big stretch, kick, nuzzle grate  

A long tail flops over pink onesie,
motor-legs propel each of them
into a tangled heap of arms, paws, legs, ears.
            grab nose, grab and rock, squint eyes

 This cat puts up with far more from a tiny human
than she ever did from me.
            roll on, grab tug, pull, look up, got a leg…  

Each time you think, surely she’s had enough,
is about to attack, or run,
she stretches out long and lean
or inches just out of reach.
            scoot, scoot-grab, roll, poke ear, roll over, push belly

Even when the baby flops
right on top of her, she just maneuvers
into place, kicks off the wall, and stays
right there, purring.
            grab foot, done.  

What a gift, that they get along so well.