LOVE AND A CAT: A Haibun

Friends have occasionally corrected me when the subject of my childlessness crops

up.  I remark that I’ve housed and loved many “cat children” over the years, rather

than human children.

“Oh, loving your cats is not the same as loving a human,” they would inevitably say. 

Not the same, perhaps, but in my mind no less worthy, no less intense and certainly

more unconditional than the love of parents who spend much of their time planning

for and obsessing about their human child’s development and education.  I don’t

expect my cat child to be the way I want, to change, to “do me proud.”  Love of a cat

is, by its nature, unconditional love. I watched the kitten grow into his fullest feline

expression without any input from me other than what I provide out of my loving

care for his health, i.e. healthy food, entertainment and lots of stroking and cuddling.

Who can say that

love of a human

is better than

Charlie, on the left and Carrie, his big sister, on right.

love of a cat?

Love is love

wherever it shines,

cherishing plants,

pets, family alike

with the warm, pure glow

of a golden reflection

of that which transcends

and cannot be defined.

I stand firm that my love

for a mischievous

four-legged bundle of fur

is a valid expression of love

that must not be denied.