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 tortoiseshell tabby, Sophie, remembers her water dish spot soooooo well, that she CAN’T SEE THE BLASTED THING if you move it. She’s 6 years old, with perfect eyesight. She can spot a fluttering leaf at 100 yards, but she can’t see her water dish if it’s not in front of the kitchen sink, not even if you splash in it and call her, as I did last night. Oh no, it ain’t water if it ain’t right in front of the sink where it can be kicked in the dark by bumbling humans.Of course, I folded like a cheap lawn chair and gave it to her, after shutting her in the garage with her water dish failed to work. She just circled around to the front door, suckered one of the kids into opening it for her, and resumed her post in front of the sink.
Stubborn wench.
Wow, loved this. So true.