Fish (Notevember 2020, #1)

Fish

I mustn’t eat it – this I know
Because my Master told me so
“This here is Bubbles. He’s my fish”
“He is a friend – not Kitty’s dish”
So I resolved to undertake a mission:
I’d look for loopholes in this prohibition.

I quickly wrote the order down
And tried to find some way around
The lack of ambiguity.
Alas, my ingenuity
And feline intuition notwithstanding,
I found the rule was legally commanding.

In my defence, I’ve tried my paw
At working from within the law
But fe-lex isn’t human lex
So convoluted and complex –
The sole purrview of feline legislation
Is maintenance of proper relaxation
(and, rarely, territorial regulation)

You really shouldn’t be surprised
That your lives, neatly organized
With guidelines, borders, doors and locks,
Each category in its box,
Would be anathema to my convictions.
Yes, I like boxes – but I loathe restrictions

Despite the punishment I’ll get
On principle, this swimming pet
Is prey, and therefore I’ve a right
To catch and kill and take a bite.
So, though I am aware of what the risk is
I’ll take my chances – and devour this piscis

(Were I to find myself before a judge
My testimony would not make him budge
He would declare my Master as the winner
But, as the scorpion that rode the frog,
My nature’s fixed – I cannot play the dog
And sometimes only fish will do for dinner!)