And the Peace of God—Daye Phillippo

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by Daye Phillippo

   may settle on your lap
like a big old barn cat, one scarred ear,
black tabby in the house,
cold night, cat padding
across the loveseat, leaving
the fleece blanket beside you, 
coming as if in response, fully clawed 
and heavily muscled, years 
of mousing, barns and woods and fields.
He comes to you, kneads the garnet fleece 
of your robe and you 
beneath, then tucks, tenderly, 
his big, black-striped head,
against your breastbone 
as if to feel the lub-dubbing
there, the rise
and fall of air, 
as if he wants you to feel 
the steady vibration of his purring,
the strong weight of him, 
anchoring you there.

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Daye Phillippo has lived her life backwards, first raising a large family and later earning degrees in creative writing. She taught English at Purdue University and her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Presence, The Midwest Quarterly, Cider Press Review, One Art, Shenandoah, The Windhover, and many others. She lives and writes in rural Indiana where she hosts Poetry Hour at her local library. Thunderhead (Slant, 2020) was her debut full-length collection. You may find more of her work on her website: www.dayephillippo.com

"And the Peace of God" is part of Daye’s forthcoming book Blue Between Owls (Codhill Press), winner of the 2024 Codhill Press Pauline Uchmanowicz Poetry Award.