Dolce:

1.

From the middle latitudes, prevailing westerlies

settle into their destinations

 ––and on a heading northeast by east

approach the mouth of Mount Hope Bay

––and driving further northward lay their introductions

upon the red-cedar clapboard at the banks

of the Taunton River running southward

––and there from a window's perch the young

cat, black and glistening considers her acquisitions.

(In the distance, muted rolls of thunder serve

as prelude to rejuvenating rainfall.)

2.

An interlude of sorts finds the breakfast table set

with seedless rye toast, glaze of pineapple marmalade, and coffee;

"a highly intense dark roast with smoky undertones and dried

fruit notes" as the bag romances the bean will come to be.

epilog:

The short-haired black patters to her station

enlightening the pale indifference of linoleum

when a knock at the door intrudes upon the morning's suite,

and I respond without apprehension to the unexpected.