Little Kitten

On a brief “writing sabbatical,” I am spending a few days catching up with one of my sisters who lives in a pastoral, serene part of the country.  Her property and home reflect the love with which she and her husband raised three beautiful daughters. 

I recall, as a boy, several trips to this sister’s home, riding in the backseat of my Dad’s gas-guzzling Dodge.  In truth, he enjoyed visiting his oldest daughter as much as I enjoyed my oldest sister and her family. The place has mystical properties:  from the steep, treed hills behind her house, to the English garden-style backyard, to the large pond that frames each evening’s sunset, to the dew-covered, sprawling lawn and vegetable garden.  It has been the setting of a couple poems I’ve written over the years. 

Perhaps it comes as no surprise, therefore, that I might awaken the first morning here, walk out onto the back yard, where the following is my sister’s morning view:

As I opened the back porch door, literally a dozen cats and kittens scattered from a small feeding trough, through the garden, and up the hill into the woods…well, all but one. (If you zoom in -- directly behind the tiny pond -- you'll see yon little grey kitty, about to scamper off to the woods.)  This little, grey kitten was perched, deeply entranced by the little fishes swimming in my sister’s pond.  While all the other felines scampered off upon seeing me, this little girl was having none of it!  She remained statuesque – ruminating, it would seem, on her chances of snagging just one of the little guys swimming blissfully beneath her looming gaze. 

Mind you, I am not a cat lover, per se. But even I, brooding husk that I am, couldn’t withstand her terminal cuteness.  Damn!  So…back to the kitchen, cup of coffee and my journal in hand, I sat down at the breakfast nook, picked up a pencil, and just let my mind luxuriate on this brief, delicious moment. 

A few minutes later, I had something that required my digital magician's touch. She asked what mood I was trying to evoke with this.  Pondering a few moments, I replied, “Whimsical.”  Later last eve, she returned this image…and I said, “Purrfect!” 

Here is a little something to brighten the day of my cat-loving friends (you KNOW who you are), and anyone who appreciates a brief glimpse of our animal world.

Peace.  Shalom.