Gnostic Cat
In my dream the cat was talking
(as he sometimes does in dreams)
but I wasn't paying close attention,
concerned about what he was doing:
working on electrical outlets,
his furry paws adjusting wires as he
Kato the Gnostic Cat, at his desk, 2004
said that, in a past life, he had written
one of the Gnostic gospels--
Stop it, you'll electrocute yourself--
But he kept right on working,
all the while talking about how unfair it was
that his gospel didn't make it into the canon,
while Matthew's did,
and Mark's and Luke's and John's--
I didn't get to ask him which one
of the Gnostic gospels he had written.
I awoke, and when I did, the cat
(in this world) was beside me in the bed,
staring into my eyes intently
as if to confirm the energy of my dream.
I find it hard to believe the cat could be Gnostic
(at least not the dualistic kind):
he who moves with such physical grace
could never split spirit and body,
could never denigrate the physical
to elevate the spiritual.
But this is the cat as I know him now. Kato on the sofa, 2007
Perhaps over many lifetimes he became
less dualistic, more incarnational--
and now, as his reward,
he gets to live a life of leisure,
well loved and tended
by a staff of caring humans.
He's staring at me now, as I write this,
just as he did the other morning
when I woke up from the dream.
But the telepathic thought
he projects into my mind
is not about the Gnostic
but about the need for tuna.
(c) 2004 Darrell Grizzle, www.WildFaith.com
Warrior Cat
All hail the mighty Warrior Cat!
He who leaps to the top of the refrigerator in a single bound!
He who devours bugs and shrubbery and vomits forth their remains upon the carpet!
He who greets the morning with yoga stretches!
He who sits on the front porch protecting the house from intruders!
He who will not allow another cat to enter the yard!
He who will not suffer the indignity of having his tail pulled!
He who expresses his royal displeasure with bites upon the hand or ankle!
He who rubs his cat-face on every item (and every person), thereby claiming them as his!
He who demands a daily sacrifice of tuna!
He who will stalk a squirrel for half an hour before pouncing or becoming bored!
He who chases butterflies and seeks to devour all brightly colored birds!
He who runs from one end of the house to another in manic pursuit of invisible prey!
He who leaps onto the bed and snuggles in between his humans!
He who attempts to awaken his humans every morning at 6 AM!
He who purrs contentedly when given the worship that is rightly his!
All hail the mighty Warrior Cat!
(c) 2004 Darrell Grizzle, www.WildFaith.com
