cats is the funniest people
SLEEPING WITH CATS
I am at once source
and sink of heat: giver
and taker. I am a vast
soft mountain of slow breathing.
The smells I exude soothe them:
the lingering odor of sex,
of soap, even of perfume,
its afteraroma sunk into skin
mingling with sweat and the traces
of food and drink.
They are curled into flowers
of fur, they are coiled
hot seashells of flesh
in my armpit, around my head
a dark sighing halo.
They are plastered to my side,
a poultice fixing sore muscles
better than a heating pad.
They snuggle up to my sex
purring. They embrace my feet.
Some cats I place like a pillow.
In the morning they rest where
I arranged them, still sleeping.
Some cats start at my head
and end between my legs
like a textbook lover. Some
slip out to prowl the living room
patrolling, restive, then
leap back to fight about
hegemony over my knees.
Every one of them cares
passionately where they sleep
and with whom.
Sleeping together is a euphemism
for people but tantamount
to marriage for cats.
Mammals together we snuggle
and snore through the cold nights
while the stars swing round
the pole and the great horned
owl hunts for flesh like ours.
ⓒ Marge Piercy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (etc.)
I am at once sourceand sink of heat: giver
and taker. I am a vast
soft mountain of slow breathing.
The smells I exude soothe them:
the lingering odor of sex,
of soap, even of perfume,
its afteraroma sunk into skin
mingling with sweat and the traces
of food and drink.
They are curled into flowersof fur, they are coiled
hot seashells of flesh
in my armpit, around my head
a dark sighing halo.
They are plastered to my side,a poultice fixing sore muscles
better than a heating pad.
They snuggle up to my sex
purring. They embrace my feet.
Some cats I place like a pillow.In the morning they rest where
I arranged them, still sleeping.
Some cats start at my head
and end between my legs
like a textbook lover. Some
slip out to prowl the living room
patrolling, restive, then
leap back to fight about
hegemony over my knees.
Every one of them carespassionately where they sleep
and with whom.
Sleeping together is a euphemismfor people but tantamount
to marriage for cats.
Mammals together we snuggle
and snore through the cold nights
while the stars swing round
the pole and the great horned
owl hunts for flesh like ours.
ⓒ Marge Piercy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (etc.)
Labels: cats, kuniaki utagawa, Kuniyoshi Utagawa, marge piercy, poetry, theophile steinlen
posted by lotusgreen at 1:14 PM
3 Comments:
Oh, I like this. It makes me think of my tiny, tortoiseshell cat, Undine. She used to sleep on the pillow above my head at night. I could reach out in my sleep, which is often interrupted, and feel her warm fur. And then she would start thrumming. She was often dislodged and sometimes rolled on the floor and never complained. She would just relocate herself. She wasn't a lap cat and never sat on me until the last day of her life. She was old and very ill and got on my lap and licked my hand to say good-bye. Well, you see- I love cats too.
Oh! Purr, purr!
rachel, are you kneading when you say that?
princess-- do you have a cat now?
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hi, and thanks so much for stopping by. i spend all too much time thinking my own thoughts about this stuff, so please tell me yours. i thrive on the exchange!
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