Solitude or Loneliness, Who Cares Which?

It's Poetry Friday and hosted by someone I like to think of as a friend that I have never met but feel like I know - Linda Baie at Teacherdance.  If you don't know Linda yet, go there to meet her and make a new friend!  Oh, and find more poetry linkups there, too.
Additionally, on Wednesday the new Poetry Jam prompt was issued... "Write about loneliness or solitude."  I have written a poem to address the issue.

Solitude or Loneliness, Who Cares Which?

I’m all alone at home again
I’m writing, and I’ve
tried
to ignore the constant scuffling
of two dogs by my
side,
and then there is the white cat
being obviously
denied
access to his sleeping place
and where he likes to
hide.
Oh, I talk to them - they listen with
their heads cocked to one
side.
So if I say I’m lonesome
I'd have have to say I’ve
lied.
My days are not my own,
I could use some
solitude.
Can't say that I don't like my pets;
I'd never be that
rude,
But when I try to gather thoughts
they carelessly
intrude,
And all my writings and my dreams
seem to be pet
imbued.
Solitude or loneliness -
oh, does it matter
which?
I think that either one might
surely cure me of this
twitch.
But then of course I’d lack excuse
for a poetic
glitch.

©Donna JT Smith, 2015

Give It Up

Empty

Bowl –

Striding.

Telling looks

Harsh stares

Thinking.

Devising.

Commanding.

You must have what I want.

You must know what I want.

You must relinquish what I want.

Yes.

I have what you want.

I know what you want.

I am busy.

Ignoring.

Resisting.

Aarrgh,  caving.

Relinquishing.

Telling looks

Harsh stares

Striding –

Bowl

Full.

The writing process to this piece, from 1st at the end to 5th and final (above).  It just seemed an interesting process to me and I decided to keep my copies as I revised.

4.

Food

Gone,

Striding to me.

Telling looks –

Harsh stares –

He is thinking.

Devising.

Commanding.

I must have what he wants.

I must know what he wants.

I must relinquish what he wants.

Yes.

I have what he wants.

I know what he wants.

I am busy.

I am ignoring.

Resisting.

Aarrgh,  caving.

Relinquishing.

Telling looks –

Harsh stares –

Striding to the bowl

With

Food.

3.

Hungry

Striding to the bowl

Telling looks

Harsh stares

He is thinking.

Devising.

Commanding.

I must have what he wants

I must know what he wants

I must relinquish what he wants.

I am ignoring.

Resisting.

Caving.

Telling looks

Harsh stares

Striding to the bowl

With

Food

2.

Hungry

He

Strides to the bowl

Gives me 

Blank stares

Speaking stares Telling looks

Harsh stares

He is thinking.

He is devising.

He is commanding.

I must have what he wants

I must know what he wants

I must relinquish what he wants

I am wondering.

I am resisting.

I am caving.

Blank stares

Speaking stares

Harsh stares

From

Me

Fed

1.

Blank stares

Speaking stares

Harsh stares

He is thinking.

He is devising.

He is commanding.

I must have what he wants

I must know what he wants

I must relinquish what he wants

I am wondering.

I am resisting.

I am caving.

Blank stares

Speaking stares

Harsh stares

Purrsee

This evening, while I was sewing, and obviously not paying enough attention to Purrsee, our Maine Coon Cat, he got hungry and bored.
He began sliding a spool of thread off the table, and I caught it about 4 times.  Then I started my camera. You can see at the end he has figured it out and is now teasing me!

 

This morning, he was hungry also, and when he's hungry he likes to get my attention by opening kitchen cabinets (there is no cat food in any of these cabinets and he knows it). In this clip, he has already opened two kitchen cabinets, that you will see him walk by on his way to see if his dish has food in it yet.  I got my camera again, a bit too slowly, but you can see him in action just as the clip starts. When he knows I'm filming, he gets camera shy...or obstinate, perhaps is a better word!

Breakfast of Champions

Is there anything better for breakfast than oatmeal on a sunny, but cold, autumn morning?  Yes.  Oatmeal in my favorite bowl with my favorite mug filled with coffee.

  

Since I've retired, I've taken to making more foods from scratch.  This oatmeal is not your Quaker Quickies.  It is either Silver Palate, or my new favorite Bob's Red Mill Organic, Extra Thick, Whole Grain Rolled Oats.  Now that's a mouthful...literally!  Silver Palate takes 8 minutes to cook, and Bob's takes 12 whole minutes to make!  Now that's cooking!  Anything that takes longer to make than it does to eat is what I deem cooking.  If the clean up after the meal takes longer than it did to eat it, it's cooking, too.

I sprinkle cinnamon on it, then raw sugar, almond slivers or slices, then some Maine wild blueberries (fresh raspberries or strawberries will also do fine), a drizzle of real maple syrup and last a little bit of milk.  Fill the mug with coffee, and voila!  Breakfast is served.  Oh, I forgot.  Sometimes the bowls are a little cold straight from the cupboard, so I warm them first by rinsing them in nice, hot water before they get filled with oatmeal.  The oatmeal stays warmer longer that way.

There is nothing finer, and I never used to like oatmeal.  The trick is to not overcook it, and don't cook the oats in milk.  And it's very photogenic.  Even if you don't like oatmeal, it makes you wish you did.

Oh, good grief.  My cat is opening the cupboards again.  I have to see if he has an empty bowl.  He's not having my oatmeal.

Dog and Cat

I have a dog and a cat.

No.

I have a dog.

There is also a cat at our house.

No.

I live at the cat’s house with my dog.

That’s what my cat told me I should say.

The dog is perpetually looking to me to see what’s up.

The cat will let me know what’s up.

The dog waits for a bowl of dog food each morning and night.

We take her out on a leash to do what she does on the lawn near the tree line.

We don’t have to pick it up.  We’re in the country.  No sidewalks.  No plastic bags necessary.

She likes finding sticks to chew up.  She’s a golden retriever who will walk around happily with a chew bone for three days before making a tooth print in it.  She has 6 stuffed toys that she’s had for over 2 years with nary a loose stitch or missing eye.  But give her a stick outdoors and she rips into it like she’s making toothpicks.

The cat owns me.

The cat opens all the cabinet doors in the kitchen when his bowl's empty.  There is no mistaking his meaning.  His food is not stored in the cabinets, so I'm not sure where he got the idea to do that, but I guess he knows ours is in there.  So if we still want ours, we'd better get him some of his own now.
The cat gets his food in a little bowl that is barricaded by three kitchen chairs so the dog won’t eat it (otherwise we go through the cabinet issue again).  The cat can have some any time he wants.
We have to round up chairs if we have guests.  If the dog paced herself, she could have dog food all day like the cat has cat food, and we could have chairs to sit in that weren’t all huddled around a cat’s bowl.  But it doesn’t work that way.  Like my brothers and my sister and I when we were kids - the boys would finish their food and eat all the extras before we could finish ours.  I have a weight problem now. They had a wait problem then.  Anyway, that’s not about the dog and cat.

The cat does his business in the litter box in the guest bathroom.  Although we are out in the woods, he is an indoor cat. Cars and trucks are safe from running over him, but hawks, owls, eagles, ferrets, foxes and coyotes are looking for cats for dinner.  So he stays inside and uses the litter box.  He tried to train me to let him use the bathroom sink and tub.  I would have been okay with the toilet, but no…He almost had me trained, until I filled the sink and tub with water so he wouldn’t be able to use those spots.  It was still a problem if we had guests though.  Then I came up with the perfect, perfect…I mean perfect solution.  Glade Air Fresheners!  The ones that sense when you go by… Well, they sense when a cat has jumped into the tub or sink and make a hissing noise and spray a beautiful smell into the air!  Cats hate it!  At least our cat hates it so far, and they've been there for months.  Clean sink and tub, fresh air in the bathroom!  I win this round.

Cats are funny creatures - not too bright, but just bright enough to challenge the brightest of humans.  So I’m expecting any day to come home to a cat party in the bathroom, with Glade Air Freshener batteries dropped in the toilet, kitty litter in the sink and the dog barricaded in the corner with her empty bowl.

I'm Watching You, Turkeys!

 

O        I

shall

patiently

wait

for just the

right moment.

Thanksgiving

 will be early

this year for me

 y

   u

       m

     m

   y

e

  o

        w !

I knew there had to be something on our front lawn this morning.  

Oh, to be on the other side of the glass!

Too Hot

                           I'm too hot...

I don't want to vacuum.

I don't want to sort mail.

I don't want to do the laundry.

I don't want to clean the closet.

I don't want to make the bed.

I don't want to cook lunch.

I don't want to do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.

                       I'm too hot, but...
I guess I will leisurely do

    almost e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

It will just take longer

    with all the lemonade breaks.

The dog and the cat

    don't want me to vacuum though.

They are too hot.

    I will respect their wishes today.

My Table

Why 

are you

on

my table

again?

 Whose table?

You
aren't

supposed

to walk on 

my table! 

 Whose table?

I

don't 

want you

on
my table...

 Whose table?

I
just

organized
all these
papers;
get off
my table!

Whose table?

Okay,

I'll move

my papers

off 

your table.

It's okay,

I think

I can

make

them work

for me.