time’s measured in a
thin line on a cat’s back
cats know more about survival
than humans these days
hunt and kill
eat and sleep
play and rest
i fear, some days
we’ve lost our instincts
other days i fear
we’ve only buried them
beneath a thin veneer
of {un}civilized
virtual banter
canter
and we’re riding down a too steep hill
paved with words
we cannot say
art[?] we should never look at
hanging from trees
and strange fruit
dangling from vines
we cannot reach
i don’t know where he goes
when he heads for the woods
or whether his plan is
kill nap climb
(circle one and only one)
but some days
i’m envious of his ability
to walk away
except, of course,
for dinner
.
.
.
February 26th, 2015 at 8:56 am
hemingway said to write one true sentence. you’ve done so much more. all true, all true.
February 26th, 2015 at 9:21 am
Perfect, spot-on description of cats and their habits! You’re the next T.S. Eliot of cats! Love this – and not just because that cat looks like my Zoe.
February 26th, 2015 at 10:10 am
i have wanted to tag my cat with a little tracer forever…to see how far wide he ranges….he is gone for days at times and then shows up all soiled and ready to eat, sleep and clean himself…ha. the steep hill of things we can not say is what scares me…especially in light of walking away being a bit easier….
February 26th, 2015 at 12:17 pm
yeah – they know more about survival than we seem to know… i think we’ve become too comfortable in a way – too civilized and we don’t trust our instincts any more..at least not often enough
February 28th, 2015 at 4:19 pm
shades of Billie Holiday.
you’ve heard, no doubt, of the studies that indicate American pet felines kill on the magnitude of 1-3 BILLION small birds a year, yes? add-on effects of our ‘way of life’…. ~
March 1st, 2015 at 3:12 pm
Oh this is so good.