Where?

It's been over a month since you went away
Long ago you promised to stay
You said you were mine and that we'd always be together
Sweet enough words in fair, balmy weather
But now every night when I look for you
You're nowhere to be found; I'm so blue
Where are you when I need your warm embrace,
When Nouna and her Gurlz are all up in my face?
JJ's all right, but he's still such a kid
He's rarely willing to do as he's bid
Sure you call and murmur sweet nothings
But that's cold comfort, like your leftover clothings
Did I say something wrong? Didn't I do everything right?
Did I miss the moment when we had some ultimate fight?
Why have you gone so very far away?
Promise you'll come back to me some day

Rambling

Pudee's back from being away
Though rumor has it she's not here to stay
But I have friends with whom to spend my days
Three who sleep, one who continually plays

JJ keeps an open eye and ear
For when the garage lights appear
He always sounds the alert loud and clear
To let us know when a human is near

We quickly rise to sit and wait
At the courtyard screen gate
Whether early or very late
Our greetings always do elate

I only wish Pudee
Would stay longer with me

How Can It Be Pouring

How can it be pouring cats and dogs
Somewhere called the Midwest
When all I see are melting clogs
Beside my bone dry chest

The temperature has dropped a bit
Or so I have been told
The fog's returned on the Bay to sit
But I feel no hint of cold

The fussing continues to disturb my peace
As books go into boxes
I'll be glad enough when this ado can cease
And we eat some loxes

Someone has suggested
That rhyming is very high schoolish
But since I've never gone to school
I'll ignore such criticism as just plain foolish

Something's Up - Besides the Heat

Something's stirring, I can tell
Though I cannot understand very well
Pudee's leaving again, I think
The thought makes my heart sink
Every day every way
I try to tell her I want her to stay
When will she leave? I don't know
But I don't want her to go
Maybe if I love her enough
She'll stop packing all her stuff
And stay here contentedly
With me and the rest of the family

Energy Shortage

The wind picked up
My breath blew away
Pudee left
Though I begged her to stay

Now I lie here
Struggling to breathe
I may look calm
But inwardly I seethe

Pollen puts me in a pickle
Makes me limp and tired
I've licked my fur clean
Now I feel wired

But I don't feel strong
I don't feel frisky
I feel like moving
Is highly risky

No motion is best
Just let me rest

Hawks on High

The courtyard door is barred
While hawks swirl high overhead
Though Little Gurlz may whine and beg
They're better off live than dead

For everyone just wants fresh meat
And Little Gurlz are oh so sweet
Beneath their flashy fur so fine
Is tender meat on which to dine

So the courtyard door must remain unopen
No matter what is said
For 'tis better to live life in a gilded pen
Than to help young hawks be fed

Or is it?

D&D

Delta and Dawn are free at last
Leaving foolish humans in their past

They've finally made it
Down the river and out of the Bay
Past every idiot
Shouting and shooting every which way

Back to the peace and serenity
Of the deep blue ocean
The wide blue sea

Clearly Foggy

I'm in a clearly foggy state today
Wondering what I'm going to say
Ajax prowls, eager to play
JJ just wants the humans to stay

But for Ajax there can be no game
For JJ's wish just more of the same
The humans find home far too tame
So out they go and who's to blame?

This weekend
Is supposed to be
A time of remembrance,
That's the key
The living should pause
For those who died to be free

But all I hear
On the news right now
Is daily complaining
About gas prices and how
If only this or that or another
Then people would be nicer to each other

Too seldom these days do I hear a tale
Of someone's selfless deed helping others
Too rarely are the deaths reported on the air
About anyone laying down their life for their brothers
As though the heroes whose blood fed this land
Have all died out or worse
Been stifled or culled or even been banned
Leaving behind only a curse

I must be mistaken
Don't listen to me
My furry brain
Is all asea

Lost Field

There used to be a large wild field by the Bay
Filled with tangled grasses and weeds
Where feral rabbits and squirrels roamed free
And humans supplied their snacking needs

But like so many other long lost fields
Large smelly machines have overrun it
Now there's a long high chain-linked fence
Defining spaces where buildings might fit

The rabbits are gone, and the squirrels too
There's nothing left but flat rolled dirt
And evidence of roadkill in the street
Mute testament that some were worse than hurt

Buildings bring business and boost the economy
So it has been said
Money is good for the humans in the community
The old ways of life are dead

D & D

Delta and Dawn? Seriously? Pardon my prose, but -

Yep, that's what the mother and calf have been named, according to media reports. I am, of course, referring to the whales that are swimming in the Sacramento River, which has a lovely manmade levee. I guess the whales are fortunate neither picked up that name...

Does anyone besides me wonder why they linger near this particular bridge instead of moving on? Have I watched too much Star Trek? Can't help thinking they're trying to respond to a rendezvous all-call...

Okay, outta here and back to my own universe...

Weathering the Weather

Yesterday was very hot
Everyone just slept a lot

Just as well
Since the door was shut
Air was still
JJ had a tender gut

Smoke outside
Nearly gagged me too
PU was busy
Making such a hullabaloo
Cutting up herbs
And messing with the smoker flue


From sunup to sundown
Everything seemed way too bright
Cats aren't meant
To endure so much light
Neither are my ears
Made for such a loud din
Nearly brought me to tears
Listening to Sanjaya so thin

Finally the firelight
Ceased its oil-fueled flareups
Though the air remained smokey
Giving somebody serious hiccups
Odors of burnt flesh
Mixed scents of chicken and pork
Crisped veggies too
All ready for that poised fork
Closed out the day
At the start of the night
Ended activity
Restoring cool right

Summertime Tsunami Season

The moon is refilling
I saw its sliver tonight
The breeze is chilling
Despite today's sunshine delight
Eggs have hatched
Nests are emptied
The wasp hive is patched
Life is picking up speed
Kitty Eater was out again today
Chasing the Gurlz across the house
I just hung out in the wide clear bay
While JJ pretended to be chasing a mouse
But the wind's picking up
That's clear as can be
Tsunami season is upon us
Who live adjacent to the sea

A Different Kind of Whale Watching

Whale watching has taken on a decidedly different turn
As Bay Area residents tune in daily to learn
Whether or not a wayward whale and her young calf
Are still alive; yes, they've cut the distance by half
On their precarious return journey to the Pacific Ocean
From a trip up the Sacramento River that hasn't been fun
Yesterday they finally managed to do an about-face
Folks thought it had become a much simpler race
To return from so far inland back to the sea
Everyone watching keeps hoping that it's meant to be
Though today the whales turned back upstream again
As though they are determined to reach some distant inland fen
Perhaps these mammals have been contacted from outer space
And now seek to reach an unsuspected rendezvous place
But human scientists who think they know better than the whales
Insist on tagging and biopsying and badgering when all else fails
The din they've raised trying to herd this mother and child
Has to be distressing to all others trying to live in peace in the wild
Then again, perhaps the whales don't want to be left alone
Up the river without even a . . . cell phone . . .

Trash Talk

Found this tidbit floating around on a PETA-friendly website:

Some things dogs have eaten

In order to warn pet owners of the dangers lurking right under their noses in their house and yard an animal care facility in Raleigh, NC, put on display a “Museum of Foreign Body Ingestion.”

Here are some of the items on display there that dogs have eaten: laundry, cell phones, toys, many food related items such as wooden meat skewers and corn cobs, nails, coins, purses.

Most items had to be surgically removed by a veterinarian. Severe and continuous vomiting is the most common sign that something bad has been ingested. As always, prevention is the best cure.


Now, I've seen the Little Gurlz sampling odd things
Like shoes and towels and soda can rings

But they've never been foolish enough to swallow
Knowing instinctively what surely must follow

JJ, of course, is clearly part dog
When he was younger he was such a hog

But even he has never been so foolhardy
As to ingest a cell phone because he'd been tardy

To a popular meal that might have been gobbled up
Leaving him nothing but crunchies on which to sup


Face it: dogs are just poor overgrown creatures
With neither brains nor any attractive features

Sleep

Don't care what's happening in the world today
Just want to sleep my cares away

The morning was cold but now it's warm
Stay inside away from the insect swarm

Summer's coming and with it lots of smoke
Enough to make this feline choke

So keep those doors and windows closed
And when you're done, make sure the embers get hosed

The music's been way too loud all day
Please, please make it go away

Immigrants can come or go as they please
Just let me catch a few more zzzzz's

No one can possibly be pleased by any political resolution
Only the economy can provide a definitive solution

Quit the gouging and put more people to work
Don't let shirkers hang around and lurk

People want to be able to afford food and clothes
And shiny things they can hang on their appendages and nose

Whatever their neighbors have is fine
As long as it's not mine

Time for another nap now
So hush, and don't have a cow

A Louse in the House

While I wonder I wander
About my house
Seeking respite
From that confounded louse

I'm not naming names
Or making any accusations
But it's attitude that frames
Acts that yield sensations

Obscurity is only in the eye
Of the obtuse
Smokescreens cannot belie
Clear truths

If there are truly lice in this domain
From the outdoors one should refrain

Feline Doggerel

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.
- Edith Wharton

Did I say it was hot?
The last two days have been so cold
My stomach's tied itself in a knot
Though bread is growing very green mold
A day of sleeping in
Was followed by a day locked inside
No new toys in the bin
The Little Gurlz nearly cried
When there was finally a chance to play
PU was nowhere to be found
Ajax nearly got carried away
I saw her paws dangling far from the ground
Smoke from the neighbor's yard
Proved to be barbecue
Though it made the Lady run so hard
I almost ran too
Finally the garage door
Opened invitingly
But cold was the floor
Frosting paws bitingly
So here I sit
Pondering verses
Can't have a fit
So I'll settle for curses

Clear Through the Fog

Grey skies
Foggy day
Cooling temps
Here by the Bay

Locked up
All day
Till garage door opened
Then time to play

Jerry Falwell
Fell asleep
Won't wake up
Don't weep

Plenty of others
Ready to preach
To rake in the dough
From all they can reach

Church and state
Should stay separate
Or mixed motives
Always lead to regret

I may dwell
In a clearly foggy place
But my thoughts remain clear
Of doubt there's no trace

Din in My Ears

Some call it music
I call it noise
People howling
Rattling my toys

Lyrics of longing
Lyrics of lust
If it doesn't stop
My eardrums are gonna bust

Whatever happened to making a difference
Catchy tunes all about change
Now all I hear when the music starts up again
Is tripe about feelings or people acting strange

American Idol panders to populist tastes
With songs and a band that totter down the middle of the road
The homogenization of the seventies is alive, if no better
Daunting and blunting any who would dare to be bold

Now for those who claim to want control of their music
Who invest the time to program an mp3 player
Shouldn't such pap be a thing of the past
Shouldn't the music I hear be stronger or gayer?

But no, I continue to be subjected
To strained tunes old and new
For my human's tastes (or selections)
Evidently are just too few

Sleeping In

Sleeping in is usually a solo activity
But today involved watching a loud tv
And sharing space and blankets too
And the occasional stroke or loving coo
Guess that makes the sharing worthwhile
Getting to sleep in fine feline style