Pastor Dull

The cat repeatedly
Walked past the water dish
And stepped a paw in it,

Then shook the paw, fiercely,
Irritated by it,
Then walked back past the dish

And did it again. Thoughts,
Watching this, tried to think
Of the right homily

To be had, a habit
From youth misspent in pews
Attending to sermons.

What moral could be drawn
From this cat’s repeated
Paw in the water dish?

Then thoughts would let it go,
But the cat would come back
And do the dance again,

And the thoughts would shake out
More possibilities
For homily, fiercely.