They call them pussy willows,
But there’s not a cat to see,
Except the little furry toes
That stick out on the tree.

I think that very long ago
When I was just born new,
There must have been whole pussy cats,
Where just the toes stick through.

And every spring it worries me,
I cannot ever find
Those willow cats that ran away
And left their toes behind.

~ ‘The Willow Cats’, Margaret Widdemer (1884-1978), American poet, novelist, and Pulitzer Prize winner