Whatever she is doing or not doing, a cat is a cat is a cat (and we call this one Biddy). I wonder if the same can be said of a person. If you stopped thinking for a few minutes, and laid aside every habit, tic, job, expectation, should or ought — each veil or disguise — awake, wordless, doing nothing, who or what would you be?
2 responses to “Ert or inert?”
Nice comment, J’s M. Cats ONLY EVER do exactly what they want. And we? Oh well, at least school’s done with. Phew.
I was this cat, in high school, on a cold winter morning when my mouth was so cold I couldn’t speak or smile. I looked at the cat – no exams, no friends-that-might-or-might-not really be friends, no legs freezing in pantyhose beneath a stupid tunic – and I wanted to stay home on the doorstep in the sun, too. I really, really did. I was ready to forfeit everything about myself, to be safe, warm and comfortable. And then the bus pulled up, and I lugged my bag and my cold, skinny legs on board, and kept doing what I had to do. I can still see the doorstep in my mind – really old cement, smooth, coloured with the red dirt of the farm, and a white wooden door closed behind the cat’s back.