Monday, June 4, 2018

Inessential Things by Brian Patten

My lap kitty, Garfield.


My only male cat left.  He's very protective of me.

Inessential Things
What do cats remember of days?
They remember the ways in from the cold,
The warmest spot, the place of food.
They remember the places of pain, their enemies,
the irritation of birds, the warm fumes of the soil,
the usefulness of dust.
They remember the creak of a bed, the sound
of their owner´s footsteps,
the taste of fish, the loveliness of cream.
Cats remember what is essential of days.
Letting all other memories go as of no worth
they sleep sounder than we,
whose hearts break remembering so many
inessential things. 
© Brian Patten
My beautiful Little Debbie, Garfield's sister.

4 comments:

Kelly said...

Your cats are beautiful. I love this poem, too, and must share it with my daughter (who loves kitties, as well).

Marion said...

Awww, thank you, Kelly. They ought to be pretty as much as I spend on special cat food and kitty litter. But they're worth it.

I fell asleep in my recliner last week, very late, and felt "someone" gently tap-tap-tapping on my leg...very human-like and I almost had a heart attack. I slowly opened my eyes and it was Garfield, as if asking me why I hadn't come to bed yet. He spooked the crap out of me!!! Gotta love 'em! xo

Terra said...

That poem is very profound and your brother and sister cats are beauties. Thanks you for your comment on my blog.

Snowbrush said...

As Charles Dickens put it: “What greater gift than the love of a cat.”