so I wrote about all sorts of serious stuff, then encountered an advertisement with these cats who were presented with the stuff of perfect pleasure, then found myself writing about them and that, and then wrote of dogs as well for ecumenicity’s sake—enjoy (please)
cosmic cats
(dramatic dogs)
1
nice cats
noisy
cats
could be siblings
certainly assuaged by
special cat food
mom has used the last
for them
and they are happy
for the moment
thankfully
dad is at the store
getting more
good food
longer-happy cats
what more
could
pet parents want
2
cats
have a k
and comic sound
while
dogs
is softer
and adorable
both were wild once
and even
now
we should take
care
for impulse
becomes instinct
upon
how they’re treated
so
treat them like home
and they will live with you
and guard you
love you
in their trained
and wild
ways
3
there are allergies
also pills
and sprays
and shots
I was allergic
to my cat
which I found out
ten years into having her
so guess who stayed
she said I could
as well
we keep our pets
and they
keep us
and so the ordered
more chaotic
world
is kept a little better
for a while
longer
c l couch
(our pets, of course, include more kinds of creatures)
photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Triscuit Decks a Phobia
x
I keep forgetting
That when the first is on a Sunday
There will be a Friday
The thirteenth
I have to pay attention
Though I’m not afraid
I find it interesting
The day
The superstition
All our reactions
When we realize
x
There’s the Irish in me
Or you
Or the Italian or the Russian
The Kenyan
Or the Māori
Part of you
x
Loki
Raven
Anansi
All the mischief-makers
Plus phantom pronouncements
On the cracks
Under the ladders
With the black cats
Passing by
x
The weight of superstition
Better to wear it lightly
Over souls
Keep a thought
Let it drive you
Toward civility
With an interest in
What drives an utterance
Of the Scottish play
Inside the theatre
In another play’s production
x
Maybe ghosts will tell us
Why it matters
Since the ethereal
If not the numinous
Is attached
And coursing through
The old sources
And our own,
Both inventing things
For cautions
In our day
x
n. b.
x
Be nice to black cats
They are not superstition;
They could have stanched
The plague
x
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x
x
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash
x
(space = x)
x
x
Any Day Now
x
Sigh,
It’s Friday, Lord
I exhale into the day
Sunlit
Upon the floor
A cat might be happy
There
x
I can’t
Keep the news
In my head
I know it’s hard
Sometimes
There’s something good
To help the day
We’re breathing through
And gently taking from
x
Our cats and dogs
Upon our floors
And all the strays
We made
An age ago
And should take in
As well
x
All the causes
Everything that moves us
And should bind us,
The catastrophes
We should see each other
Through,
Which make us ready for
A triumph
x
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x
x
Photo by Matheus Queiroz on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
On the Ecumenism of Species
x
Dogs and cats should share
Often, they do
They share heat when it’s cold
They can share toys
They can treat each other
As toys
Food is another matter
Their systems are different
So unless it’s An Incredible Journey
Situation,
They should eat apart
And eat apart
Be who each other is
They can rest together
Often, they do
And enjoy God’s-creature status
Both, together
All, together
Now
x
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x
x
Photo by Madalyn Cox on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
I Hope the Dogs and Cats Are Well
x
I heard stories about them
Early in the war
Not so much now
There might be zoos
I remember that detail
In a story by Unamuno
About the end of the world
And the wild animals getting out
But dogs and cats need our help
They always do
We made them that way
Adapted them for use
And took away their other capabilities
How could they stand up to wolves
Or bears or badgers
Wolverines
Or unknown men and women
With machine guns
Who have no familiar smells
Nothing about them
To indicate
Friend
Or family
Or home
Cats and dogs might do all right
With welcome from the stranger
But in battlefields
The anonymities are too severe
And the cruelties
Tend to pile up
Where did they go?
Where are the ones I was protecting?
I do not know anyone
Anything
Anymore
x
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x
Photo by troy williams on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Species Speak Out
x
Is there a dog
In doggerel?
How about a dog
In dogma?
And while we’re at it,
Should it not be called
Godma?
x
I’m sure there is
A certain species
That, should we understand
And grasp
The elevated obvious,
Should know
Things are better served
By catterel
And catma
x
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x
x
Love between Dogs and Cats
Photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash
x
Friday Felines
I will see cat-friends tonight
They will ignore me
I’m not feeding them
They’ll act as if they do not play
Though I know it’s different
One friend
Erstwhile Pennsylvania Quaker
Might decide it’s time for
A first-floor chase
Or to jump on me, reach toward my
Ear as if to say
Quietly through sharpened teeth,
Feed me
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2 Chome-4-8 Daiba, Minato, Tokyo 135-0091, Japan
Cat House
Last night I saw
Cat-friends
Allergies notwithstanding
There were people, too
They’re fine, I think,
The cats (I guess the people, too)
The screened-in porch was open to them
In fact, a breeze
And persons to protect the bowls
One cat’s from the other
The skittish cat leaped up
The other flowed like mercury
Upon the floor
Seeking a container of some sort,
I think
The way liquid does
We ate
They hoped
We watched a film
They stayed away
We had to pass through, after
Their insistence came alive again
Furballs of self-interest
That is their purpose
And their lesson
Nature to the rest of us
Not wrong to want our way
Not bad to serve affection
For no reason
Beyond being
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Image by cocoparisienne from Pixabay
Friday’s Children
It’s Friday
I should say something
About cats
And to be fair
Dogs
And if you have a rabbit
Pet your rabbit
Be careful ‘round the ears
Otherwise, I think they like it
Friday’s child is loving and giving
Cats, it’s true
Are a source of affection
And encouragement
Through seeming indifference
Dogs are obvious about it,
Aren’t they?
Sometimes that’s just what we need
Obvious affection
I’ve spent most of my life
Around both
Not both kinds of cats (though
that’s true)
But contrary cats
And thorough dogs
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Image by Peter Morth from Pixabay
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