Not that I saw my neighbours' cat, or maybe I saw his shadow, a slip and a wisp of something dark and feline, or maybe just a trick of the light ... I said I would feed him in their absence ... taking empty bowls, filling them, returning them to their spot beneath the trees, watching from around the house corner, but no sign ... returning some hours later to platters licked clean ... in my mind's eye a small black cat watching from some vantage point, perhaps purring and making paddy paws as my back turned, I with my task and he with his side of the unspoken bargain ...

Would you ever kiss a dandy lion, sitting in the park? ... Would you ever kiss a dandy lion, dancing in the dark? ... Would you kiss the blowing wind, As it travelled round a bend? ... would you ever kiss a dandy lion, singing like a lark? ...

I tell ya, not a peep