And We Will Smile Awhile Before We Go

Fleas very much prefer
My cat when he is present
They camp within his fur
And make a life most pleasant

For them anyway

For him I would say
They do not
And they ought
To just go away

But if he is outside
Not on my bed
Then all of them decide
On me instead

Tonight our fleas are acting strange
Sensing an atmospheric change
They flee and leave us vacancy

Is it just me
Or is it cold
To be a flea

Or am I old?

Something is not right
And is broken in the weather
On this summer night

My cat and I curl together
With windows closed tight
Against a strangely spreading chill

Or am I ill?

In any case
The fleas have gone
Withdrawn with grace
Until the dawn

But then my face
Will be able to feel the sun again
When time and space
And life and death will be begun again

Whether or not my cat is on my bed
The sun will rise
To my surprise
And by tomorrow the fleas will be dead

But I will thrive
As I have before
And be alive
To live all the more

I am not old
I am not ill
There is no cold
Nor any chill

Nothing to keep dreams from coming true
We will make a go of it fleas or no
I will make up songs and sing for you
And we will smile awhile before we go

+Steven Curtis Lance



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