Purring

by Coleman Barks

The internet says science is not sure
how cats purr, probably
a vibration of the whole larynx,
unlike what we do when we talk.

Less likely, a blood vessel
moving across the chest wall.

As a child I tried to make every cat I met
purr. That was one of the early miracles,
the stroking to perfection.

Here is something I have never heard:
a feline purrs in two conditions,
when deeply content and when
mortally wounded, to calm themselves,
readying for the death-opening.

The low frequency evidently helps
to strengthen bones and heal
damaged organs.

Say poetry is a human purr,
vessel mooring in the chest,
a closed-mouthed refuge, the feel
of a glide through dying.

One winter morning on a sunny chair,
inside this only body,
a far-off inboard motorboat
sings the empty room, urrrrrrrhhhh
urrrrrrrhhhhh
urrrrrrrhhhh

Rereading The Watchmen, it is twice as brilliant the second time around. I actually cannot remember getting as much out of it the first time I read it, who knows how long ago.

Finally seeing results from my regular working out and diet change. I still miss my cheese and milk, and chocolate, but, results rock.

I saw a ton of shows last week: Gogol Bordello, Ratatat and Juan Mclean, Atlas Sound. Plus I had dinner with my sister, bought a couch from anndr0id, helped with a yard sale, and worked. Tonight I am exhausted.

Things I forgot to do were: grocery shop, laundry and buy a dishwasher. Oops.

Thursday night I leave for Washington DC, as Sunday night I see Nick Cave there! Woohoo. I am staying with Greg A’s parents, and he promised me a tour of Washington.

~fade out~