Monday, January 7, 2013

Yellow Cat Story

Yellow Cat Story



Every morning, before the house awakes,
I sit in the dark with my coffee
In my favorite cup that reminds me
Of other rooms and other doors.
I sit in the dark, save for the light
Of the screen on which I peck out my words,
One finger moving through my mind,
Stirring thought like swirling cream
In a Parisian cup. Anyway, I digress.
I usually do. This is a poem about my cat,
The missing one, the nameless Mister, Mister,
Whose missing name I never said without a lisp.
Mithter, mithter, cat talk, baby talk
For a cat I swore would outlive me,
For a cat now gone by years, not days.
Again. This is a poem about a cat. Not Mister
But the damn big yellow cat that Poppy says
Killed him. We found him under the mountain laurel,
Looking caved in and small, Mister I mean. Buried him
Near the creek in some approximation to Lady.
(Someday I expect to see their bird thin bones
Wash away in a flood.)
This is a poem about that damn yellow cat
That killed Mister and --
Every morning as I sit here
In the dark, me and my screen, mining memory,
That damn yellow cat comes up on the deck,
Causing the motion sensor light to turn on,
So the morning dark, which envelopes me and
Makes me feel like some explorer hunched
Around her fire, the motion sensor light come on,
The morning dark disappears
And that damn yellow cat comes slinking to the door.
Every morning he -- he couldn't be a she, could he?
Every morning for three years straight,
He comes in the dark to my door,
Turns on the light outside, and turns that big
Yellow satisfied face to me.

22 comments:

  1. wow what a rather haunting piece...esp when you consider he may have killed your own cat....having just lost our eldest cat, makes me a bit sad...but def appreciate the skill in the write...smiles.

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    1. Sorry about your old Mister, Brian. I still miss ours after all this time.

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  2. You have two choices, either quit blaming the cat for being a cat or get your vengeance and shoot the yellow cat. I personally would take the fist because I know in the second I would have to bury it near the other pets I actually cared for.

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    1. I feel like taking the second...damned cat!

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  3. Karen, what an awesome write. I was right there with you in the pale light of your computer screen, hating yet loving that damned yellow cat. Happy New Year to you. xo

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    1. So glad to spend time with you, Marion! You know, much as I hate to admit it, when Old Yellow doesn't show, I'm a little disappointed!

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  4. The link in your name that I took to your profile that shows your blog link - doesn't work. So I back tracked to WWP to find you again. I'm glad I did.

    This piece brought to mind a black cat that I had saved from tormentors at the park. I was a child then and really thought I'd done something good. But as it turns out we went away for a weekend and the folks looking after the cat, said it 'escaped'. I have my own theory tied up in the adults who perhaps thought a cat in a small apartment wasn't really a good fit.

    One never really owns any cat. Cats just let us care for them, occasionally.
    Thank you for your comments on my pieces that you visited.

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    1. Sorry about the problem with the link. Blogger has a mind of its own sometimes...that's probably a non-techie way of dodging guilt, you know.

      I'm glad you did find your way here, especially as it triggered your own cat memory.sorry you lost him, but you are absolutely right...cats tolerate our attentions sometimes but belong to themselves. I think that's one reason I like them!

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  5. I can picture this scene exactly. I think the big yellow cat knows exactly what he is doing, knows he is annoying you, thus will continue to do it. There is such a 'damned yellow cat' around here too. We cannot figure out who owns it, as cats are not allowed to roam here....but this one roams. And it will often sit in such a place outside as to be within sight of my dogs and incite them to bark, and they bark and bark, and the haughty cat just sits there until I go out and walk toward him. But I swear he does this on purpose!! He is big and yellow too. Truly, I empathize with you in this situation...it is like every day it rubs salt in a wound!

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    1. I agree...those yellow cats know exactly what they are doing! Now I'm starting to wonder about the color yellow and bullying traits...I wonder if anyone has done a study about that?? ;-)

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  6. Whoa...those nasty big yellow cats. We had one, wreaked havoc every time he showed up. Ugh...great write, sad for your Mister though.

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    1. Reading these comments...there must be something about a YELLOW cat that makes him act that way! (I'll probably be attacked by the yellow cat-lover society for that comment)...

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  7. I can see it...I have a big yellow tomcat that comes and terrorizes my outside kitty. I chase if off, but occasionally it makes its return.

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    1. Watch out for him! In fairness, we don't know that this one killed our cat, but he may have...he certainly chased him enough. Our cat, much smaller, was a feisty little guy, though, so I know he would have turned and fought. Makes me sad to even think about...

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  8. First, let me say that I know it would be correct to use "damned" and not "damn." just wanted to get that out! ;-) I said, "First of all," but I guess that's it!

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  9. So poignant a read....I love the digressions!!!! Love them! and the sweetness of Mithter, and the sadness of his passing. Then the perfectly satisfied look of the yellow cat, beaming in. Fantastic write! Loved every single word.

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  10. haha..this is just delicious...cats have their own ways for sure...love your voice in this

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  11. beautifully written piece! i still miss my Jazz after more than six years, but i'm afraid i can't blame the yellow cat for being what he is.

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  12. Isn't that just the way? Yellow cat would get the business end of a big broom if it were my porch. I love story poems like this one. I could feel the quiet, and the unfinished business.

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  13. They know. They just know somehow. Damn big yellow cat! I feel angry and I could never not love a cat, but this cat I would have trouble with. Excellent work.

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