A trick of the tail

There was something feline
In the way she looked at me

Graceful intensity
Un-self-conscious confidence
Self-conscious presence

A stillness in her
Like the stutter between stalking steps
Like the moment before the pounce

Then there came the glimmer in her eye
The curl at the corner of her mouth
A trick of the tail

And I?

I felt very much
Like a mouse