Hugs Weekend

Here I am, taking a nap with my brother, Brainball, who is Alpha Cat of my household. I've been feeling a little off-kilter the last couple of days. Mom thinks my teeth are bothering me, so a week from Monday, I'm off to the vet to have my teeth professionally cleaned. In the meantime, Mom is keeping a close eye on me, and if other issues arise, I will go to the vet sooner.



It's Memorial Day weekend, and this past Thursday marked the sudden passing of the much-loved Bonnie Underfoot. My heart goes out to Victor and to Bonnie's family. And my thoughts and purrs are with them during this difficult, grievous time.




Thank you, Zoolatry, for the beautiful graphic.

In honor of precious Bonnie, it's Hugs Weekend on the Cat Blogosphere. I want to express my thanks to you, my dear friends and family. My life is immeasurably enriched by your love and friendship. To all of you, I send my warmest hugs and purrs, and my love always.





From Khalil Gibran -- Joy And Sorrow Chapter VIII

Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

A Favorite Poem

In the spirit of this weekend of remembrance and thinking about the preciousness of life, I wanted to share one of my favorite poems. To my mind, it has much to say and much to instruct about the way we choose to live our lives.

THE TWO TREES

by: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

BELOVED, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the wingèd sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

Gaze no more in the bitter glass
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while;
For there a fatal image grows
That the stormy night receives,
Roots half hidden under snows,
Broken boughs and blackened leaves.
For all things turn to barrenness
In the dim glass the demons hold,
The glass of outer weariness,
Made when God slept in times of old.
There, through the broken branches, go
The ravens of unresting thought;
Flying, crying, to and fro,
Cruel claw and hungry throat,
Or else they stand and sniff the wind,
And shake their ragged wings; alas!
Thy tender eyes grow all unkind:
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.

BELOVED, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the wingèd sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

=-=

The poem itself consists of only the first two stanzas, but for my post here, I wanted to repeat the first stanza at the end. For in the Cat Blogosphere, in the hearts of my beloved kitty family and friends, I find the enduring spirit of the Holy Tree -- one of hope, love, and tender care.

Today I continue to remember and reflect on much-loved and much-missed family and friends at the Bridge, and I am also thinking today about the preciousness of life, love, and friendship, about the importance of turning away from the bitter glass and basking, instead, in the warmth of love's flaming circle.

My darling Mickeybear, I send you love and purrs -- your love gives me my melody.

New Snooze Spots

Since I can no longer lounge on the Yamaha (I barfed in it the other day - ACK), I've been scoping the house for new, choice snooze spots. And I thought I'd share with you several of my favorites.

Here I am on the purr pad on the little desk by the door. I love to lie with my head upside down. As my mancat Mickeybear knows (he writes poems about it, *giggle*!), I like to turn my head upside down while lying on my Mom and Dad's laps, too, especially when they're giving me scritches! They're always joking about how amazed they are that I never get cricks in my neck.



And here I am on the dresser in the bedroom. Mom and Dad keep folded there a pile of snuggly, winter clothes especially for me. And by the time winter comes, those clothes will be well-coated with white kitty hair which, as we all know, is highly fashionable! Cat hair of any color is an excellent accessory for beans' clothing, don't you think? When winter comes, Mom and Dad will put something else on the dresser that's cozy and snuggly for me to lie on. We Ballicai have our parents well-trained!



Here's the strangest spot: a piece of packing that came with Dad's computer case. It's the perfect size for me, don't you think? And here I am, looking over my shoulder, blowing a kiss to my darling Mickey!



The packing makes a good podium, too. Here I am, reciting a funny little poem (a highly modified Lento) I wrote for my sweet Mickey:

Lucky girlcat, yes I am
Plucky and besotted!
My mind's awhirl in poesy
My heart's all hot-a-trotted.

Entrance me, dear? You always do.
Dance to where I wait...
Romance you, dear? I'm happy to...
Perchance you'll do a Monty!

=-=

Mickeybear and I will be participating in Silence & Remembrance, hosted by Kashim & Othello, and I will light my candle on Saturday.

Thoughtful Thursday

I'm dedicating this post to my friends Ana and Ubee and to Oscar, my kitty Daddy. Goodbye is so hard.

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan."
~ Irving Townsend

I wrote a spontaneous etheree:

Life
Well-lived
Glorious
Harmonious
Like a symphony
Which never stops even
When its orchestra changes.
We loved ones still on earth hear its
Beauty; it guides our steps and we dance;
We remember how to dance... together.