Oh Janie,
I see your mischievous green eyes
Peering out the window.
I see you lounging on my backpack
And grooming yourself on last night’s homework
All day long.
I see you biting the flowers
And curling up in the sink,
Begging for more food to eat.
I see you shredding my papers
And leaping down the stairs
Like a hurricane.
When I arrive home from school
You run to the door to greet me.
You are my companion and friend
When no one is home.
I hear you cry out in the night
And I answer:
Janie!
The inspiration for this poem was my Siberian cat Janie, whom we adopted two years ago. For the record, everything I describe in the poem she actually does: she loves to sit in the sink, eat and groom on pieces of homework, sporadically sprint across the room, and cry when she feels lonely. This poem also won my local 2017 Robert Campbell Monterey County High School Poetry Award. Additionally, the featured image is of the titular Janie lying on the sofa.