Relative Something

.

in the deepest, darkest hours of the night
awakened by crashing and thrashing sounds
traveling through the house
toward the spaces directly under my bed
I discover a voice I’ve not heard before
a mixture of breath and growl
and a hint of a hiss
that goes on at length
telling me someone is not happy
but I can’t decipher who
and I’m tired, so I go back to sleep
hoping whatever the problem is
it will pass with the night
and normal will arise at daybreak
except we don’t make it all the way to light
when the fighting loudly resumes
and that growling breathing sound
picks up where it previously left off
its cadence speaking an eerie gloom
and I wonder with hope
if this might be
the first battle with critters
since the cats had arrived
to lay claim on this abode
since no mice have dared appear
now that cats have settled in here
and when morning eventually dawns
with rain showering from cloudy skies
that clearly filled my dreams
with visions of leaks in my house
from windows in ceilings above
and making rivers into a dirt floor garage
it takes some time
before a feline decides to appear
it’s the wee she who jumps up on the bed
obviously nervous to a dramatic degree
and I get no sense that this escapade is over
when she tries to act normal
but can’t let down her guard
shortly after, proved to be true
when he, too, showed up on the bed
trying to act as if nothing was wrong
and she immediately attacked
appearing the offending aggressor
and he takes flight with her in pursuit
and crashing and thrashing ensues
out of sight, so I only hear sounds
and I wonder, if there is fault
will I figure out who is to blame

.

.