A Double-Edged Purr

by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco

It’s 5am.
And as the ticking clock strikes,
the punctual cat clock attacks.
Not like last night, when it was all teeth and claws.
Toes under siege.
But early morn, as the moon leaves,
and a new sun rises — More surprises,
from feline disguises. Shedding,
under cover and above.
Wrapped up in bedding and rapt in love.

What’s a wake-up call when you’re allowing…
pushing and pawing, mewing and meowing?
Ever so gently, so friendly.
At first.
No need for rushing,
with just a few bursts of
nudging and brushing,
and a lightness so smooth,
they have us believing
we don’t want to move.
Put a hold on relieving!
You’re in a purr-groove.

How distant, yet insistent, this purr-machine seems.
Real? Or a musical bed for our dreams?
Our awakening is slow,
one might say it’s stealthy.
The body says no
because resting is healthy.
But the cat knows its needs,
and kneads with its claws,
Pressing flesh like it’s dough,
with paws that don’t pause.
They won’t stop, they can’t quit,
as their biscuits are made.
Each skin prick’s a pin prick,
with the force of a blade.

Just try spurning the purrs, as reality sets in.
Spoiler alert: The cat always wins.

Cuddling. Curling. Fur in your face.
A mystery rumbling that’s so hard to place.
A blur that’s demure. ‘Til it grows even bolder.
A motorboat engine on top of your shoulder.
A drill, a trill. A thrill? Perhaps.
A silly vibration upon outstretched laps.
As the wretched, yet so sweet, kitty cat naps.
All while your sleep’s on the verge of collapse.
Abruptly disrupted, interrupted of course,
by a four-legged snooze sound, that you can’t shut off,
as it pins down your limbs and pretends to be soft.

But what is a purr? A healer, a balm,
150 Hertz of curative calm?
A hurt bone that’s mended,
a pain that’s upended,
or science that’s blended with
something transcendent:

Put a cat in the room, and they say bone breaks heal.
True or not, goodness sakes, a purr’s quite a big deal.

For purring’s great intensity works on bone density,
soothing what hurts and disarming infection.
There’s evidence too, of a Purr-Brain connection.
In fact, it’s up there a purr gets to start,
in a cat’s brain — not a throat or a heart.
So, before you start showing your cat to the door.
Before they get banished to a spot on the floor.
Consider the purr, and its multiple plusses,
and don’t be nonplussed when the cat fits and fusses.

Do you know what cat’s purrs are indeed all about?
Has anyone succeeded in figuring that out?
Is it pleasure? Or pain? I’m sure you will find
that purrs do sustain through both states of mind.
Might we even say that a cat’s purr is Divine?

Purrhaps (pun intended) it’s about the extremes.
When perfectly good purrs are corrupting our dreams,
preempting the alarm as you struggle to sleep,
when the purr has arrived before the clock’s beep.
Leaving you wide-eyed, confused, and oh so awake.
But make no mistake – Cause you are not mistaken.
You are right to think — you are being taken!
You are a victim of cat manipulation.
None of their actions can be called accidental.
Cats play a game that’s devious and mental.
They seek adoration, and with no boundaries set,
they get information with each and every pet.
And that keeps them purring, and purring and purring,
and early-bird wake ups occurring and occurring.

So, here’s the option that this ode conveys:
Set some boundaries or do accept their ways.
You may be thinking without a doubt,
it’s due time to put that purring cat out.
Not let it curl atop of your head.
Not let it sleep beside you in bed,
while it purrs, full of bluster, at the very crack of dawn,
before you even muster the energy to yawn.

LINES, MY DEAR! They must be drawn!

But really? Oh, can’t we…? Is there no other way?
Well, I’ll go ask my cat what he has to say.

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