An Observation of My Cats
An Observation of My Cats
I
Cat’s paws race and dare
the balance of living room
chair whose slightly stained fabric
provides a claws home
topple to ground with scurry
to run away from their crime.
Preparing to pounce
to elevate their haunches
kneading the floor as they stare
before the attack
unblinking at opponent
seconds before a scuffle.
Evening companions
follow behind every step
work to make life worth living
to them a cat’s game
follow me I’ll follow you
to end curled up in a nap.
Pursuits of pleasure
a late afternoon frolic
with loosely rolled ball of yarn
a seasonal red
soon to find itself undone
provides the net for the play.
II
Hours just staring
out of living room window
following the path of birds
wind on front yard trees
large and small dogs who walk by
owners looking to the ground.
Take the time to groom
much of the day lost in bath
to scrub again with rough tongue
not a spot is missed
one of many episodes
a compulsion to stay clean.
Do I have a place
among this lifestyle of cats
a member of their clowder?
Provider of food?
Warm body to take a nap?
Lifelong friends and companions?
The serious one
who constantly vacuums dust
never watching fair bird flight
momentary cluck
evolutionary trick
are they teaching me to hunt?
III
Cat observations
there is Carl Sandburg’s fog feet
Eliot’s practical guide
to cat’s of all breeds
for centuries poets muse
deep thought about the feline.
I am as grateful
as each cat is to full bowl
for when they curl on my lap
to help read a book
move close and begin to purr
diminish this loneliness.
Their purpose seems sound
where I have searched a lifetime
and pray to find every day
answers lie within
each cat limb as it stretches
their backs reaching to the sky.
They observe my life
absorb my daily schedule
pay attention when around
do they ask questions?
Know importance of actions
to do what needs to be done?
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I often wonder what cats are thinking as they observe us and life. You have created a great visual image of the ways of a cat. I enjoyed the poems very much. Well done, Jamie.
Thank you Phyllis by three felines are always forcing me to pay attention to them. Jamie
Great stuff here Jaime, cats have always been a mystery to me.