Monday, March 8, 2010

The Thing Is by Ellen Bass


Catfish in my antique bread-making bowl.  Catfish is the alpha-cat around here.  He's bob-tailed and hops like a bunny rabbit.  I think the nub-for-a-tail thing has given him a complex and he overcompensates.  You know how it is.  He also thinks he's a dog and follows Cody around and acts doggish....like coming when called....something other self-respecting cats would never even consider, much less do.


Garfield sleeping on one of my many cat blankets.


Cody taking a nap wearing a new sock hat.


Gir reading over my shoulder while I was blogging.  He likes to wop the cursor ever so often and suggest synonyms or subject matter.  He totally hates people who call me a crazy cat lady.  My cats are people.  When Gir was born, his mother tried to kill him 3 times.  She kept moving all the other kittens and left him behind.  He's a special cat and has powers.  He sat by my fairy door last night and stared for over an hour at it, his head moving right and left.  I didn't see any fairies, but I'm sure he did.   Like I said, he's special.  He never once swatted at a fairy either.  Smart cat.


Garfield on a shelf watching me blog.  He's my first orange/yellow cat ever and he has the softest fur of any cat I've ever had.  It feels like mink.  Catfish daily gives his brothers and sister a cat-bath.  I have the most wonderful, caring, loving cats on earth. 

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The Thing Is
By:  Ellen Bass

to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.

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That's all I got.  Rainy, cloudy day here in the deep South.  I love y'all, I really do. 

Blessings,

~*~Marion~*~


"Women, poets, and especially artists, like cats; delicate natures only can realize their sensitive systems." ~Helen M. Winslow

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"I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul." ~Jean Cocteau

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"Cats have intercepted my footsteps at the ankle for so long that my gait, both at home and on tour, has been compared to that of a man wading through low surf." ~Roy Blount, Jr

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"People who love cats have some of the biggest hearts around." ~Susan Easterly

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"It always gives me a shiver when I see a cat seeing what I can't see." ~Eleanor Farjeon

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"A cat pours his body on the floor like water." ~William Lyon Phelps

10 comments:

Kelly said...

I'm smiling at the thought of Gir watching fairies.

Love Cody's hat! He's such a good sport with all those cats around. Big ole lovable fella!

Getting dreary here, too.

Karen said...

Your kitty pictures make me miss my little guy, but we've sworn no more animals! This is the first time in my entire life that I have not had one other animal (besides Frank) living in my home! I'm trying to think how long it will be until I sneak one home...

I wish I'd written that poem. Really good.

Unspoken said...

That poem may be my very favorite of what you have posted What a telling of grief and life it is, all at once.

Marion said...

Kelly, yes Cody is really just a big cat in a dog suit. He raised every cat we have from a kitten. Yes, Gir loves the fairies. I find him often sitting staring at the fairy door (Pammie gave it to me). I'll have to post a picture of him next time he does it. LOL! Blessings!

Karen, I swore no more animals when my 20 year old Siamese died two years ago and here I sit with 5 cats. Sigh. They steal your heart when they're kittens, then you're stuck. We wanted to give away some of these but we couldn't decide which one had to go. They have such distinct personalities and are so much fun to watch. We call it cat tv. Last night Catfish was swatting the dog's tail and got hung up and the dog was dragging him around the room. Hilarious! :-) Blessings!

Amy, I'm glad you enjoyed the poem. She's an amazing poet. Blessings!

Wine and Words said...

Well I think I'm crushin' on Gir. So mysterious! And I love the poem. Damn fine. Had to print it out and stick it on cork. And ya know what....poetry like that makes me not even want to bother. Why fart around in the shadow of such greatness.

Love you!

ds said...

Love your cats--especially the one who was kind enough not to swat at fairies! And the poem is lovely. Thank you.

Marion said...

Annie, Gir's a trip and my favorite. He follows me everywhere I go and demands to sit in my lap. I know what you mean about the poem. But take heart, nobody else on earth has your heart or spirit, so keep on writing!!! xoxo

ds, you're welcome. Gir's a black Siamese and he also has an 11 inch long tail. Catfish (with no tail) is always swatting Gir's tail and Gir bites his butt. LOL! Blessings!

Char said...

Dammit, you keep this up, and you are gonna MAKE me like cats! Nice.

Also, I'd like for the editing cat to visit me for a while.

xoxo

Serena said...

Your "wildlife" is utterly adorable, every single one of them. They picked themselves a great "mom." Have a lovely rest of the week!

Woman in a Window said...

Your cats are special people, Marion, and that poem, I love it. Yes, just like that, between hands and nose to nose, we take it with joy.

xo
erin