The here and now

Twitching whiskers, a panoramic adventure:
a scruffy fieldmouse, regretting its curiosity
or a songbird, unaware its final stanza is at hand.
Pounce! 
Watching, how do we know if the dream-hunt was a success?

Days among the brambles are long past,
with the indoor chase far less precarious (for all concerned).
Catnip-infused prey
and little plastic stairs to the soft, sunny places are now de rigeur,
the thought of today’s agenda supplanting
the striving for just one more prize.

A long lifetime, with sunset in view
and chin whiskers showing grey.
Wizened.
With failed hunts and inevitability never coming to mind,
he sleeps, contented.