Cats

Cherry

By Yutka

Sun, 05 Jan 2025
  • 143 reads
6 comments
 

 

I

Many hide in half forgotten gardens

Where they sit and watch the clouds sail by.

Off and on they move a whisker, try

catching this or that, a butterfly …

 

Not regretting or say “beg your pardon” -

but the beetles ran off undisturbed.

Dragonflies, they flutter in the breeze,

while the cats keep looking, still uncurbed

from the hum around of flies and bees.

 

And their ears twist and their amber eyes

stare ahead at ghosts that no one sees.

 

II

Cats, the poets are the ones who learn

from your solitudes and how to master

all those different layers of concern

how in dawns beneath a paling moon

or a hazy sunny afternoon

shadows of the dead they may discern. 

 

Let them quietly sleep under old trees,

where in winds of ease the grasses bow,

where the earth lends shelter for their dreams

And they know of then and know of now.

 

Leave, its dark now! All the senses quieten. 

But the cats awaken, eyes a-glow -

Little mice are moving to and fro

and the stars appear in turns and tighten

rules of heaven, in their overflow.

 

Certificate U
Poem
Yutka's poems
Spiritual

Comments

Submitted by Yutka on

 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Your words about cats are quite lovely. If I tried to write similar it would be awful. Due to current extremes of weather they are all suffering from cabin fever and consequently ripping great lumps out of each other.

I enjoyed your poem. It inspired me to write. But I think I'll wait until the spring when I won't need to find a word that rhymes with carnage. This poet has certainly learned from them.

Turlough

Submitted by Yutka on

You made me smile Turlough! I would have thought my poem too romantic for you! I greatly admire cats and am never tired to observe them. Had many many in my life, they all had certain traits in common. They see things we could not....haha, you don't believe me but it's true. Our Peter, now 18 years old, is staring at certain corners or walls and following with his eyes where I see nothing....and he has an eerie sense of knowing before I return, sitting and waiting at the right moment. You must live in a place  which lots of stray cats who fight each other for food? What is cabin fever?

greetings from Yutka

 

yutka

 

Submitted by Turlough on

It's nice to know I raised a smile.

I have eight cats, all of which I rescued as pathetic starving kittens from the streets near where I live. There are indeed strays around here but most of them stay away because my own cats are so territorial. One old black stray, with a pipe cleaner tail that looks like it was broken in two places long ago, is allowed to join us to eat and sleep when the weather is bad. I don't know why they tolerate him but not the others.

My two poor old dogs tolerate them all. It's a bit of a menagerie miracle.

Cabin fever is a term that originates from the Canadian Prairies. It comes from when the snow falls so deep it covers the wooden cabins in which people live so they can't go out for days or even weeks and consequently a little madness creeps into their behaviour. Stir crazy is the same thing but that comes from being locked up in a prison cell, and I've no personal experience of that.

Our weather here in Bulgaria is usually nowhere near as bad what they might have in the Prairies but we've had a lot of snow recently and these feline creatures aren't too fond of it. They're in the house almost round the clock at the moment but in the summer months the garden and the woods beyond become their constant playground so the sort of tranquillity that you described is restored.

Turlough

Submitted by Yutka on

ah, Bulgaria....thats interesting..i imagine lots of snow....poor cats, need to be kept warm. nice to know you are an animal lover. my daughter, who lives in Greece, also has a soft heart for all strays, she has 2 dogs and feeds all the stray cats around (which I think is not a good idea) they multiply like mad....but there you go....some might be very happy to be fed. thanks for telling about Prairie fever. I learnt something new. Looking forward to your next pieces here in ABC....

 

Submitted by Turlough on

There's a big difference between the strays and the rescues. I've taken steps to ensure that my cats will never produce offspring. The strays are probably my cats' parents, grown too wild now to catch and neuter. One day, with a bit of luck, I'll get our crooked-tailed visitor off to the vet for modifications.

Turlough