In three parts (the story, not the cat)
How to tell Your daughter when her cat dies
It is the duty of a parent
to keep the cat after your daughter departs childhood. The cat remains, beloved placeholder.
When the cat dies, you will tell
your daughter that cat had a good life.
It travelled far as cats do. Matthew Flinders’ cat for instance, went to sea.
You will Tell your daughter of the night
the cat defended her territory
Against a midnight Tom,
Some tales will not be told. Poe’s cat
that ended in a wall, Mr Bloom's cat
that brushed against her master's
pants with an indescribable meow.
You will Tell your daughter her cat,
That furry emissary of time,
padded into dreams and stories,
ruled a kingdom of lizards.
You will tell her once upon a time
She saw a cat on a fence,
echo of this cat that died. You saw
what no one else could, you’ll say.
You will tell your daughter cats
do not have nine lives, just one
shifty one, defying human concepts
of space and time.
You will tell your daughter cats float
over the lines we draw as lightly
as they surmount a neighbours fence to torment the earth bound dog.
You will tell your daughter maybe
there is something cats could teach, If only our heads were not so mad
with thinking.
You will tell your daughter
Life and love have no bounds.
Because you know that she knows
that one day, You will go, too.
Isobelle carmody
From the vault: How to grieve a cat
How to tell Your daughter when her cat dies
It is the duty of a parent
to keep the cat after your daughter departs childhood. The cat remains, beloved placeholder.
When the cat dies, you will tell
your daughter that cat had a good life.
It travelled far as cats do. Matthew Flinders’ cat for instance, went to sea.
You will Tell your daughter of the night
the cat defended her territory
Against a midnight Tom,
Some tales will not be told. Poe’s cat
that ended in a wall, Mr Bloom's cat
that brushed against her master's
pants with an indescribable meow.
You will Tell your daughter her cat,
That furry emissary of time,
padded into dreams and stories,
ruled a kingdom of lizards.
You will tell her once upon a time
She saw a cat on a fence,
echo of this cat that died. You saw
what no one else could, you’ll say.
You will tell your daughter cats
do not have nine lives, just one
shifty one, defying human concepts
of space and time.
You will tell your daughter cats float
over the lines we draw as lightly
as they surmount a neighbours fence to torment the earth bound dog.
You will tell your daughter maybe
there is something cats could teach, If only our heads were not so mad
with thinking.
You will tell your daughter
Life and love have no bounds.
Because you know that she knows
that one day, You will go, too.
Isobelle carmody