Sister Cat
I think this poem attracted me right now because of the inherent struggle- even when one’s needs are elaborately fulfilled- the unnamed yearning for more I feel, for example, with the end of each Salon as I want to honor the gathered energy with something greater than a closed door on the final meeting. But it is that want- “She wants. Milk beyond milk. World beyond this one, she cries.” - that drives us- to continue to reach for new ideas, for what challenges us, for world beyond.
Sister Cat
by Francis Mayes
Cat stands at the fridge,
Cries loudly for milk.
But I’ve filled her bowl.
Wild cat, I say, Sister,
Look, you have milk.
I clink my fingernail
Against the rim. Milk.
With down and liver,
A word I know she hears.
Her sad miaow. She runs
To me. She dips
In her whiskers but
doesn’t drink. As sometimes
I want the light on
when it is on. Or when
I saw the woman walking
toward my house and
I thought there’s Frances.
Then looked in the car mirror
To be sure. She stalks
The room. She wants. Milk
Beyond milk. World beyond
This one, she cries.