The
cats in the Chinese stalls
The
cats are trained to keep silence
They
come to your table with eyes of hope
The
cats will sit and wait quietly
Maybe
the years of conditioning
The
table manners the cats are chased
No
climbing on tables and chairs
They
must wait for food to arrive
In
the Malay stalls
The
cats are free to roam
They
don't sit quietly by
They
will meow until you get the message
Sometimes
the cats will paw on your thigh
“Look
here mate I want my food right now!”
The
cats will stare at you as if it is their rights
“Don't
you know I am right here?”
They
will climb on tables
Scavenging
for leftover on the plates
The
stall owners will not discipline the cats
They
are free to roam....
But
the cats are choosy
They
don't simply eat leftovers
They
don't simply take what you give
They
have their preferred selections
The
cats roaming around
Around
the hawkers' stalls....
They
breed and multiply
The
kittens meowing for food
No comments:
Post a Comment