There's a bend in the road where the deer cross. I've been warned to be careful there so I slow a little which is probably why I noticed it in the first place. The feral black cat with half a tail and shocking green eyes. The spitting image of a rough life. It was by the side of the road pawing at something and stopped to watch as I passed by.
On my return trip, I saw the cat again. It had to be the same one, right? That half a tail and the split ear. This time on the opposite side of the road on the other end of the curve, shoulder deep in the late summer grass, stalking something.
Taking that route a couple of days later, I saw the cat. It - he? - she? was about half a mile from where I'd seen it before, just stepping off the road and into the brush covering the steep bank that sucks the road down its slope a little further with each passing year.
I puzzled over this. Was it a sign? Why have I seen this same cat three times? What are the odds? Black cats have been given a bad rap what with being equated with bad luck and all that. But this is my little metaphysical fantasy and I'm switching things up.
I'm viewing this particular feline as a sign of survival. That cat right there, with its half tail, split ear, and sharp green eyes looks like it's survived its share of scrapes and has lived another day to paw and stalk and to serve as a sign that survival isn't always pretty, but it beats the hell out of the alternative.
What signs have you seen lately?
I've chosen to see my sore left hip as a sign -- keep moving forward, and for heaven's sake, buy a hulahoop!
ReplyDeletePearl
How did the hulahoop work out, Pearl? I could use a new hobby.
DeleteDamn, I love your writing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Wendy. I really appreciate that!
DeleteThe cat may be your "spirit animal" in the sense of restoring your sense of life. (Also, it may be evoking memories of the Pussies of Peace.) Continue to heal at your own emotional pace, and remember that at least no one can tell you not to eat the peanut butter with a used spoon. All right, that was weird. That there is balance in the world even when the pendulum goes whacky.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck.
D: I like that better than the idea that a piece of chocolate is my spirit animal, which is still entirely likely.
DeleteI like your interpretation. Intersections with spirit and symbol are not scripted or something you just look up in a field guide... The green eyes seem perfect. And I have way too much serendipity in my life not to think that it's caused by something larger than we can understand.
ReplyDeleteAnd what Wendy said, above.
Thank you, Steve. It's very hard to ignore the thrice encounter with that particular cat.
DeleteGeese flying south, maybe I should take the hint and become a snowbird. Question would be where to go??
ReplyDeleteKulkuri, I recommend anywhere that Georgia 400 isn't.
DeleteI plan to stay away from Georgia entirely. I have some crazy tea-bagger relatives there and have no desire be anywhere near them.
DeleteThe Kid when told that we might spend more time with her during the winter months, suggested we check out the southwest. She lives in Missouri.
Well, I'm here wondering why it is you haven't brought along a tin of Fancy Feast as an enticement for him to join you in adventure.
ReplyDeletesusan, I suspect that this cat's tastes are more like Crow's. I'm going to have lay on the good bourbon.
Delete