STARS AND CATS

This is my annual blog on my birthday, July 24.

My blog is about the human experience of time.

So here is a poem about my own experience.

Studies of cats from a da Vinci codex.

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece of nature."

Leonardo da Vinci

I cannot imagine a world
without stars or cats

But before this turns
into a sappy greeting card
let me explain

Many if not most look to ancient words
for stability
words in sacred texts
or belief in a divine power

I instead look to the heavens
where Orion, each fall,
is always the same
year after year
in spite of wars, disease, hurricanes
divorce and death

Orion, the hunter, is there announcing
the beginning of fall
accompanied by his dog Laelaps [1]
and the star Sirius [2]
the brightest in the night sky
just as he did when I was 5 years old

Orion is my stability
along with the Milky Way
and the constellations

As for cats
even though my cat today
was born many generations later
than my first cat at age 4
her behavior is still the same
a hind paw rapidly scratches her ear
she waits patiently before she pounces
she purrs when I touch her
her catness is ageless

So in a world
where the latest cell phone
is old the moment you buy it
because a new one
is already in the works
I look for something more permanent

Some might say
this idea is not manly
but I am not afraid

As a poet friend once said
it can take courage
to love what others
find commonplace
yet these are anchors in my world

--------------------
AFTERWORD

[1] Canis Major

[2] When Sirius
returned to the sky
each year
it signaled the approaching
flooding of the Nile
in ancient Egypt
flooding which brought rich soil
for their crops
and grain that the cats they tamed
guarded from the mice