Smitten With Mittens

glove - a covering for the hand having separate sections for each of the fingers and the thumb and often extending part way up the arm mitten - a covering for the hand and wrist having a separate section for the thumb only SMITTEN WITH MITTENS Kittens are smitten with their mittens, while their mom uses white gloves. Meowing, they’re lost…they’re dirty; mom’s clean as snowy doves, except when they are used to find leftover dust, her special pair - not that the naughty dinnerless kittens, with mittens, care. Snowballs, mostly caked with dirt, sticks and stones, they roll between their grubby-pawed mittens easy to pat with fingerless palms. One of the pair, of course, got rolled and tossed - no food in his bowl. He knows the fate that awaits, when mom drops her bombs. Mom buys the four gloves. Now they’re fingers are separated. They panic, with teeth, they chew and pull, then fill each one with snow and use them to throw, but they’re cold and frustrated. They meow for dinner, meow for mittens - naughty every single one. Mom takes pity, warms each pair of hands, feeds them gold. Their stomachs ache from so much grub…she loves them so. After all, she really is most understanding and caring, all told. She pulls out her master card, buys mittens - they play in the snow. 1/17/2023 Contest: Of what use are gloves to fingers that only understand mittens Poetry Contest Sponsor: John Lawless