Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Sister Cat, This and That---

My lovely, exotic beauty, Sophie, who was a friend of my old cat, Ramone. We rescued her from a flood over eight years ago when she was a tiny baby. She brought to my mind, this morning, the poem below, "Sister Cat" by Frances Mayes. Enjoy, and Blesssings, Peace & Love to You All. ~Marion



Some needs can never be filled, this poem reminds us.

SISTER CAT
By Frances Mayes

Cat stands at the fridge,
cries loudly for milk.
But I've filled her bowl.
wild cat, I say, Sister,
look, you have milk.
I clink my fingernail
against the rim. Milk.
With down and liver,
a word I know she hears.
Her sad miaow. She runs
to me. She dips
in her whiskers but
doesn't drink. As sometimes
I want the light on
when it is on. Or when
I saw the woman walking
toward my house and
I thought there's Frances.
Then looked in the car mirror
to be sure. She stalks
the room. She wants. Milk
beyond milk. World beyond
this one, she cries.

from Ex Voto, 1995
Lost Roads Publishers, Little Rock, Ark.


This Iris picture is for Delwyn. Doesn't my Iris look a lot like your mystery flower?
Two of my all-time favorite quotes:

Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - chapter 11

Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.

************************

"There is an Indian belief that everyone is a house with four rooms: a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual room. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not complete."

-- Rumer Godden, House With Four Rooms

12 comments:

Kelly said...

Gorgeous Iris!! Brings back fond memories from my childhood.

Renee said...

I love the Indian belief. Outstanding.

By the way I have no respect for those women who let their children suffer at the hands of their men. They disgust me.

I almost started crying about your husband getting smacked off his chair.

And I bet he is so wonderful and loving to you and the girls. I know he is.

Love Renee xoxo

Delwyn said...

Hi Marion,
Yes it does. Does your iris emerge from the leaf blade?
Although mine doesn't have large leaves, more of a flaxy looking leaf...

There is also a native 'tall donkey orchid' with large outer leaves a bit like mine...

A bit of a quandary...

but the most important thing is how stunning it is.

Happy Days

PS I have Lao Tzu sitting by my desk...

Polly said...

I love that quote about the rooms of soul, so true!

And that poem... it hits the right notes in me today, even though you posted it yesterday! After many months of craving today I realised that some needs can never be fulfilled. In words of Rike I lived the question for so long and now I have my answer. Thank you for this lovely poem.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful cat eyes and I am loving that Indian Belief. You open windows to my Soul, do you know that?

Anonymous said...

You know that feeling when your stomach jumps into your heart and then your heart jumps into your stomach? That's how you just made me feel, after reading your last comment.Thank you.

Marion said...

Oh, all of your words are so wonderful and encouraging! I love you all!

Polly, we're all in this together. Knowing all of you has enriched my life so much I can't even begin to put it into words!!

SarahA, you made my day, my week, my month, my year. Bless you, and never stop writing!

Renee said...

I am now stuck singing in a tone deaf kind of way stairway to heaven. I hope you are satisfied.

Love it.

I love gardenias too.

xoxoxox

Delwyn said...

Marion,
thanks for the ref. to your native iris. Some of them are very similar to the one I have so perhaps its an Au native version??

Happy days

Margaret Pangert said...

Marion, thanks for visiting my blog (comments there) because now I'm introduced to your blog! I love it! I have an orange tabby, too (he's in one of the older posts). You captured such a wistful, musing look in Sophie. I love the poem about the negative space. I try to paint that way, i.e., not the mmountains but the space between them first. Your iris is beautiful. It does look ike Delwyn's: three petals curled back. I think hers are considered wild iris because they're smaller and curlier. But both yours and hers were violet. Ours are almost through up here in New Jersey. Next are mountain laurel and rhododendron. I knew a cutter once; it's hard to understand the reasoning, but your audio makes the motives perfectly clear. Namaste, Margaret

Woman in a Window said...

Did you post those last two pieces at my place. I swear I just studied over them at your insistance. You must have. I have much learning to do through you.

Marion said...

Thanks for coming by, Margaret. (My oldest sister is named Margaret.) That Philip Glass music from his CD, "Glassworks" really touches me. I love much of his music. He's not your everyday composer....

Yes, WIAW, I did post those two quotes at your place. After I posted them, I got the feeling that others might need to hear them, too, so I put them at the end of this post.