Third bobcat

Young bobcat, perhaps female,

paler with less prominent florets,

sauntered across my back yard

yesterday – my third, my privilege

Over the years, i’d watched two others,

probably male, grow to be too large

and too muscular to be house cats

each year their markings darker

and more distinct and handsome

I am sorry to be moving away, giving

up the honor of observing

this one over time

laughing at Nature

i chuckle at how the bobcat cub saunters

through my back yard as though it were his

though he never offers to split the property tax bill

but my amusement is short-lived as i remember

Mother Nature’s taxes are matters

of life and death