Photo by Antonio Lapa on Unsplash
A Cat
On the first day of spring
a cat came to me.
Her collared tag sparkled,
reflecting glints of sunlight
from her bejeweled collar.
Regal, majestic, passive poise
was her manner of movement
and sitting stillness
– if a cat’s movement and
stillness could be considered
in such human grandiosities.
She received me just as
Grandmaster Yip Man decreed
when teaching novices
basic grappling techniques
– “Greet what arrives,
escort what leaves,
and rush upon loss of contact.”
A Wing Chun master feline,
ruler of our centerline,
razor claws, carefully
retracted while restricting
movement and momentum,
intimate dominance, fleeting
for before I made sense
of my senses, she fled.
Why she came I cannot say
– she wasn’t hungry, and
she only knew me in
the manner that all cats of
certain domestication
know their fellow humans –
and yet she came right to me
leaning into my space,
mewing a few kind words
I could only guess at
since I don’t speak cat.
Of course I mewed right back
unclear on the syntax
but knowing that only
lonely souls lean out to find
random comfort across
diverging species.
***
Shared at dVerse Poetics: Soul gazing , hosted by Paul Scribbles. Poets have contributed to this prompt here.
Hephaestus’ Waste & Cosmic Rubble 
Yes! Great song selection too!
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Thanks trE!
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You’re most welcome!
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Amazing the affinity people have with their pets. Love your last line about lonely souls reaching across the species.
dwight
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I’l have to take your word for it regarding pets. I don’t have any. Thanks for reading. Glad you liked it. 🙂
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We had a cat for fifteen years. He was family!
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I love this visitation, especially the closing lines.
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Thanks Sherry. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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I love this poem,the conversation…wonderful poem.
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Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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Nice observation about lonely souls at the end. Perhaps it is not so random.
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Perhaps not, my friend. Thank you. 🙂
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Anything to do with cats appeals to me, Barry, and this is a feline feast of a poem!
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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I’m sure soulspeak transcends syntax, no matter the species. Glad you made that brief connection — I think it a gift. I’ve always liked that TCQ song too.
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Thank you, and I agree with you. ATCQ was basically the soundtrack of my coming of age story.
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Cats man. They’re from a different planet. Cool poem. I’m loving re-connecting with the Tribe. Been a while. That’s my playlist for the next few hours sorted. Thx.
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Indeed they are! Thanks, man. Glad you dug it. And you can’t go wrong with the Tribe vibe!
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Too true. Old skool.
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Those last lines capture the essence of communication 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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I do love this a lot… the sense of a connection of two lonely souls is just lovely, and you have described that cat perfectly
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Thanks, Björn. Glad it resonated with you. 🙂
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SMiLes.. For A Feral
Cat WiLL Teach
A Human A
GRace wHo FueLS
FearLess KiNdLinG LoVE’s
STRenGTH WiLL ABoVE
Domesticated
Fear’s
PriSon
Out of Grace
thaT iS No Gift Alone but
HuRRiCaNE CaLM eYe
A L L o N E
ReaLiZeD
iN
Fur of WinD
DanceS
SonG iN
BaLanCinG LiGHT SoUL
NeVeR EnDinG NoW BeGiNNinG..:)
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Thanks, man.
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Welcome.. thanks
For the inspiration..:)
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“Of course I mewed right back
unclear on the syntax”
These lines made me chuckle – great poem!
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Thank you. I’m always glad to be amusing!
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I can believe in that connection between lonely souls ~ Love this lesson from the wise cat:
Greet what arrives,
escort what leaves,
and rush upon loss of contact.”
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I love this, Barry. Your description of the cats poise, and outlook is perfect. Animals sense who will bond with them, or who is in need. I would think of this as a good omen.
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I was moved by the ending and how we all need to connect on some level to some thing. Nice read, great write.
Cheers,
Mark
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Me-ow!
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