Sinking Feeling

Water from metal

A cool constant dripping

Must learn to turn on

Humom, when you leave the house it is a courtesy to leave the sink dripping. Don't forget again.

The Sky is Falling

Noises come in the dark of night

Lights bright inside; I cannot see out

Through the blue eyes reflected in darkened glass.

"Just a branch" humom says

Just a piece of a tree

But when tree pieces fall, I hear the sound of their cries.

Winter has come and gone and come again, all in the space of a calendar page. Sap freezes in the veins of the trees and the sky weeps branches that break under the weight of the wind. Ella goes to explore the dark world, peering through the glass as best she can.  My sister looks up from her nap in fright, checking for worry in the humom and finding only curiosity there; her sleep resumes.  But I...I cannot sleep when trees drop their limbs. Not when they do it with such sounds of pain.

Rightful Places

She puts me down at the foot of the bed

She tells me, "No kitties up by the head"

But I know for a fact that it's where I belong

So to tell her the truth, I make up a song.

And then I sing it to her. Loudly. Perched on the pillow, right where I should be. Still she doesn't understand. Why are humans so dense?

Absence

There is no excuse

For ignoring our poems

Except that we can

Yes, we've been ignoring this blog lately. So sue us. I'm pretty sure I have a hairball I can cough up for you if need be, but that's all you're getting. What do you mean you don't want it.?

Snowshoe Haiku

A half-Siamese

Always does as she pleases

Tease her, she will bite

Power Plays for Beginners, Chapter 1:9

Absent Presence

The presence and absence

Combine to make whole

What was once granted

Is gifted again

My sisters each took a week to speak their own minds and mews without interference from each other. I chose to spend my week in Internet silence, not because I expected to be missed, but because I always approve of an experiment.  Have you ever watched a silent, empty screen with its blinking cursor and put upon yourself no pressure to write? Not a syllable, not a letter.

Try it some time. Let the need to fill a blank page fall away. Make friends with the emptiness, the blink of the cursor. Let it wait for you, then let it wait some more. Eventually, walk away, knowing that you have accomplished exactly what you set out to do: write nothing at all.

Ella's week at the keyboard, part 2

There is one bright spot

Certain days of each long week

Squishy Fishy love

Oh, for the crack of the can, by belly leaps. More squishy fishies, humom. More, I say!

Defeat

Fishies forsook me

My belly will not agree

The dish holds no cure

Why must all good food come to an end, an end in which the formula is changed, or my insides change in a way that makes me unable to tolerate it?  I worshipped you, Fishies From the Sky. I did everything you asked. I called you down as often as I could.

The agony of failure is mine.

Queen of the World

The world is at my furry feet.

So who'll go bring me food to eat?

I have decided that I am Queen of the World.  I'm not quite sure yet exactly what that means, but I'm pretty sure that you - yes, you - need to be good to me. I'm thinking 24-hour pets, or maybe just 16. I think I might want some petting-free sleep. I'll let you know. Then there's the Kitty Salon with warm, fluffy towels and fresh food every hour on the hour.

Yes, I'm Queen of the World, starting today. I hope it doesn't take the humom too long to notice and start acting accordingly.

Klutz

Humans have such clunky feet

And must have blinded eyes

So very often they repeat

My tail's near-demise

Watch out where you put those things!

I hate it when you trip

Right onto me - but what stings

Are the words that slip

"Watch out, Shi" you tell me then

But you're the one who tripped, my friend.

I'm trying to teach the humom how to look out behind her when she's in the kitchen. So far, she's very hard to train.

And yes, that's right - it's all Sashimi, all week, here at the 2.5 Siamese. Take that, sister cats!

Purrld Peace

Why are the Internets so full of growling?

Why are the people there always howling?

Saying someone's done something "Bad! No! Wrong!"

Why do they refuse to get along?

When all through the world there are fishies and light,

Blankets and sisters and all that is right.

Why can't there be more of napping and purrs?

Listen up, humans: the smart kids wear fur.

Ella's Way

I don't care what's right

I don't care about "should"

I say what I do.

Not you.

Scratching Poestry: Haiku Time

A moment of calm

Before the storm commences

My fury won't cool

~Erika P.

Ella: Out of the way. This one's mine.

Sashimi: But--

Ella: Shut it, kid. Erika, your syllables are on, and congrats on making such good friends with the letter "c," but what, pray tell, does this have to do with cats (other than the third letter of the alphabet)? If there's a calm before your storm, then it isn't fury driving it. Believe me, I know fury well. And storms. A furious cat does not wait. Waiting's for hunting, not anger.

Sushi: Not all cats are like you. She could have intended it to mean a more physical fury, not that anger you take out on Sashimi as you growl yourself into an asthma attack.

Ella: That's not an asthma attack. It's a tactic. She always backs down when I start to cough. Where did she go, anyway? Not that I care.

Sushi: To the food bowl. Where else would she go? At any rate, Erika, "commences" was an excellent choice of words. I have always loved how it can mean both a beginning and an end.

Ella: Speaking of endings, it's high time to shred.

Sushi: But I do think--

Ella: SHRED!

The Chase is On

She says that I should know my place

But when she runs I like to chase

I can't help it; it's just fun

To make that fat old Ella run

What? Just because she's older and been here longer than I have, why shouldn't I chase her? Sushi chases me all the time and I'm bigger than she is! Once she even sat on me when I didn't have room to run away. That was kinda embarrassing 'cause the humom was sitting there laughing at us. Whatever. I say it's my turn for the chase. 

Uh oh, here comes Sushi.  Gotta run!

Power Plays for Beginners, Chapter 1:9

Objects of Wonder

Don't believe the rumors
Curiosity does not kill
It eats
And you must feed it

I do not know who came up with the saying "Curiosity killed the cat," but it is inaccurate, misleading, and highly offensive. Curiosity is the best part of your nature, and it should be valued—even encouraged—in your humans, too.

Remember that in order to have true power you must be a leader, a teacher, a guiding paw. If your human seems complacent in her routines, begin working to instill a sense of curiosity in her. Make her question things around her. Make her wonder if she really knows what is going on.

The simplest way to do this is to change your behavior. If you are normally a calm individual, begin taking midnight runs about the house and spooking at the slightest movement or sound. If you are normally skittish, come up and brazenly ask for attention. If those around you are used to capricious behavior and it fails to awaken their curiosity, you may require a more subtle approach.

A favorite of mine is to choose a common object and stare intently at it for long periods of time. Refuse to be moved or swayed from your object or location. You may even want to voice your concerns and lead your humans to the object at first. If you must leave for any reason, immediately return. Vary the look on your face from interest to wariness from time to time.

Your companions will begin to wonder what is so interesting about the object. They may ask you; refuse to answer. Insist that they contemplate for themselves. You are not trying to teach them about one object. It is the inherent interestingness of all objects that is the key.

Repeat the lesson from time to time to serve as a reminder, but be wary of doing it too often. Humans have a limited attention span and the misfortune of being easily bored. Keep your lessons varied and with rest periods in between and you will see your power and influence grow.

My Favorite Chore

I like to hunt the dark spaces
The places in between
But humom piles more darkness on
Don't you think that's mean?

Humom was doing what she calls "making the bed" the other day. I love it when she strips that platform bare and then layers on the sheets and blankets one by one. I hop up as soon as the process begins and she laughs and draws up each new layer gently, which is great. But I crouch still and purr to let her know when it's enough. A sheet and two blankets is perfect, thank you. But this time of year she just keeps piling them on: a comforter, another, an afghan...

It can wait, humom, it can wait. Let me explore the dark spaces first. Let me sleep where it's warm and enclosed, but not too heavy to breathe. You can finish your chores later. That's what you always say when the dishes need to be done.

Timeless

New Year's noisemakers
As irritating as dogs
09 barks hello

So what if it's another year by the human calendar? People go around acting like new is good, but what's wrong with the old? Nothing. You go around trading one year for another and all you get is old. As far as I'm concerned it stops now. Toss out the calendar and put away the clocks. I'll let you know when it's dinner time. Expect to hear from me soon.

We're Done with 2008

Dear Humom,

We have decided that your winter silliness and poor control over the weather aren't worth our time. We're sleeping until the first week of 2009. Don't forget to keep the food dishes full for mid-nap snacking.

~ The 2.5 Siamese

(posts will resume January 5th, 2009)

Holidays at our house

We think the humom is a little bit confused, but whatever you do or don't celebrate, have a nappy holiday. Yes, nappy. Sleep is the best way to celebrate a day off, so don't hold back. Nap until you just can't nap anymore.

~ The 2.5 Siamese

Gotta Go!

My sister writes of golden silence

But today she cried;

With all the wailing in the house

You'd think that someone died.

But all she wanted was clean litter;

Her paws were so demeaned.

But Sushi, why'd you go on wailing

After the box was cleaned?

So much for all that silent stoicism, but at least it got humom to clean the boxes. I just don't know why Sushi kept up the wailing after the deed was done. I was trying to take a nap.