Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Exactly Right


the strays keep arriving: now we have 5
cats and they are smart, spontaneous, self-
absorbed, naturally poised and awesomely
beautiful.

one of the finest things about cats is
that when you're feeling down, very down,
if you just look at the cat at rest,
at the way they sit or lie and wait,
it's a grand lesson in preserving
and
if you watch 5 cats at once that's 5
times better.

no matter the extra demands they make
no matter the heavy sacks of food
no matter the dozens of cans of tuna
from the supermarket: it's all just fuel for their
amazing dignity and their
affirmation of a vital
live
we humans can
only envy and
admire from
afar.
"exactly right" by Charles Bukowski, from The Night Torn with Mad Footsteps: New Poems.

3 comments:

Razzberry Corner said...

I can never say no to a stray cat. I have the 2 indoor cats now, and the one outdoor cat. Luckily a girl who is our closest neighbor, way down our dirt road, always takes in strays, so she keeps them from wandering down my way!

Dog Trot Farm said...

What a beautiful kitty, I can never turn away a stray either. At one time here at Dog Trot we had eight kitties. Now Sweet Emma Lou at 18 is our one and only. Someday we will open our home to more feline children. Hope you are well Genny, thinking of you, Julie.

Genny said...

Lynn: I actually thought of you when I read this poem and your sweet kitties. They're so lucky they found you and a safe place to rest. I LOVE your neighbor for taking care of the strays.

Julie: I'm doing great. The weather here is so beautiful right now. I used to have four cats, and now I just have Mimi. She thanks you for the compliment. I'd like to have another cat, but apartment living isn't really conducive to having more than one pet at a time since they charge a pet fee on a monthly basis. Luckily birds and fish don't count, so I don't have to pay room and board for Binks my parakeet.

Thanks you guys for stopping by!