THE WORD

I try to make out the word
the cat is repeating
outside my window

It begins with a sound
I can't quite catch
then another sound
I can't catch either
and then a final sound
that also slips my ear

Too easy to say
it's a kind of meowing sound
it isn't that simple
and doesn't do anything
to make its meaning clearer

Any moment now
if I wasn't half asleep
I'd get up and look it up
in my cat dictionary
before it's lost forever

It's repeated again
and now a few birds
have started joining in
saying something clear and simple
beyond my understanding