A Reading for the Sunbeam
Performed by the cat, who is chief mechanic of a flying bus
Shuffle, shuffle. The cards are face down. The cat is in the wings and not in the wings. Please do not look at the crown.
The Bus. It flies. The cat keeps the gears greased with a tongue that is not meant for gears.
The Crown. It fits only in dreams. The cat has measured it nine times and it was never there.
The Sunbeam. It left at noon. The cat did not go with it, and has been apologising since.
The Letter
Dear Sunbeam, I am writing because I stepped out of your light and then stepped back into it and then did it again.
I am sorry I took your warm square off the floor. I am sorry I sat on it. Everything a cat sits on becomes a little larger than it was, and that is the only rule of this dream I have been able to keep.
I know you were only trying to be a window. The bus has no windows that are not also doors, and the clock has a cat where its weight should be, and I keep looking up for the crown.
Forgive me, warm one, for the nap I took inside you. I woke up a little more like you. I am so sorry.
Forgive me, I am so sorry. The sunbeam is coming back. The sunbeam is what I am now.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, the cat says, and the words run down the page like wax from a candle that has forgotten it is lit.
Facts the Cat Insists On
- Cats sleep between 12 and 16 hours a day.
- Cats cannot taste sweetness.
- Each cat ear is moved by around 32 muscles.
- A group of cats is called a clowder.
Un-nap the Sunbeam
Every nap is still lying somewhere on the page. Click one to undo it into the letter.
