MISDIRECTION

No matter how often he tells them 

That the patron saint of cats is Gertrude

Cats persist in praying to St. Roch,

The patron saint of dogs. Their prayers

Are carefully sorted and filed and, eventually,

Sent to Gertrude in crates which she empties 

Into murmuring heaps. The crates she refashions

Into benches and chairs for the recently dead 

Who often seek her intercession or 

Drop by just to enjoy her company.