I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

22 March 2013

I am the cat ...


I am the cat
with silent eyes

 I mark the fall of the leaf
and the grasses glistening

 I listen to life
and death.

 Life grieves
death leaps
outside

 and both together breathe.

 I sleep in the warm
inside.
I am tied to the loves of my house.

 But sometimes
I come untied.

 Wild in hail or rain
electric to thunder
voluptuous for sun

 I am chameleon

 old wise woman
the witch

 and then
the child on your lap

 I am a universe.
Cat.
First published Luna, 1981
Also in Universe Cat, Pariah Press (Melb.) 1985
and SecretLeopard, Alyscamps Pres (Paris) 2005)

 Resurrected for submission to dVerse Meeting the Bar: Negative Capability
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12 comments:

  1. Brian Miller22 March 2013 at 09:52

    ha....nice...i like the cat that is all...the universe....that comes alive in the storm...and marks the fall of each leaf....cool response rosemary

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  2. Renee22 March 2013 at 11:11

    I had thought about my own furry friend when I read the prompt at dVerse but went another route. I like this alot.

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  3. Laurie Kolp22 March 2013 at 12:07

    Yes, from wise woman to child on lap and everything in-between... such is the life of a cat.

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  4. Claudia22 March 2013 at 16:25

    ha nice...a cat can be a whole universe for sure...smiles...so many shades of personality.... lovely

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  5. vivinfrance22 March 2013 at 18:22

    Adorable, and so catlike.

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  6. Anonymous23 March 2013 at 02:56

    Cat's are so independent, so fickle, so ... well you get the idea. They also seem to know instantly when they meet a person who doesn't like cats, then make a bee-line for their victim. After a while, you learn to like cats :-)

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  7. Maude Lynn23 March 2013 at 05:36

    Marvelous work!

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  8. Sabio Lantz23 March 2013 at 08:56

    Fantastic -- I am not a cat person at all, but you made me one for a brief read. Thanx.
    Most importantly, I appreciate poems that I don't HAVE to reread.

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  9. Kathy Reed23 March 2013 at 09:44

    Purrrfect!!

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  10. J Cosmo Newbery23 March 2013 at 11:58

    They certainly believe that they are some form of diety.

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  11. hyperCRYPTICal23 March 2013 at 23:42

    Well done - very accurate portrait of our feline friends. They do own us, don't they?

    Anna :o]

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  12. Rosemary Nissen-Wade29 March 2013 at 10:01

    Many thanks for your comments, fellow cat appreciators! (Including, briefly, Sabio, lol.)

    ReplyDelete

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