Best Of Friends

I didn’t much like you when you arrived,

I made no pretence of that.

I preferred my house the way that it was,

I really didn’t care for a cat.

I barked at you daily, I growled (to your face!),

I never went near where you were.

I left rooms that I sat in when you strode by

I didn’t like your fur. Or your purr.

But you didn’t care for my whines and my barks,

You laughed at my snooty asides.

You pretended I didn’t exist for a while,

You laughed when I thought you should cry.

I liked that you didn’t seem scared of my woof,

So thought that I’d give you a go

And see if you had what it took to live here

To see if this braveness was real or for show.

I touched your small head with a nudge of my paw

And waited for you to attack.

But all you did was nuzzle my face with your ear

And turn so my nose scratched your back.

An odd response, yes, from a cat to a dog,

But we’ve never been like the rest:

You don’t have a name, for a start,

Y’know? And I like your cat food the best.

I could see right then that we would be pals

And hang out all of the time.

The others may bark and meow to our face

But together I know that we will be just fine.