Happy With What One Has

Ghosts remain invisible.
Charming angels hide.
My muses tease confusingly
As inspirations slide.

My cat purrs on no matter what
Troubles me or not.
She’s real enough to hold and feed
And with her neither of us need
More than we now have got.

Linked to dVerse Quadrille #26 hosted by Kim from Writing in North Norfolk using the word “ghost”. I am also reading Allen and Linda Anderson’s “Angel Cats” which might help explain the second stanza. For more information on them see their site Angel Animals.

Author: Frank Hubeny

I enjoy walking, poetry and short prose as well as taking pictures with my phone.

72 thoughts on “Happy With What One Has”

    1. I realized I didn’t have enough words in the earlier drafts and so I added an extra line in the second stanza. I like the 44 word count constraint. It kept me dissatisfied until the constraint was filled. Thanks!

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      2. That was when I was writing it originally. The posted version is the one with the extra line in the second stanza making a total of five lines rather than the expected four to get the word count right.

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  7. Cats are the most amazing creatures. We once rescued a young cat who was living, in the midst of an Iowa blizzard, under a dryer vent. Hence her right ear was frostbitten and the edge of it uneven. When we brought her home in our car, she lie in my lap and never stopped purring from the moment of human contact until we set her on the floor in our house. We named her Purrsalot! 🙂 Love that you brought this memory back for me!
    And yes, I do believe in angels……the most kind of ghostly creatures 🙂

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    1. Purrsalot is a nice name. When my daughter rescued a cat, she called it Caitlin or Cat for short. Our cat’s name is Kiki, because one of the members of our family couldn’t quite pronounce “kitty”.

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  9. Oh Frank, you and your angel cats. I just love this, that your cat is all you need ad the contentment that comes from contemplative living. The rhyme and such add to the brevity of this form and glad it caused you to work a bit harder.

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  13. Ever listened to a lion or tiger purr? It’s unnerving, like hearing the buzz of a 400 lb bee. I love your message & sentiment–but hey, ill health & our President leave me shaking with discontent.

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    1. I hope your health gets better. I wouldn’t get a lion or tiger, but a cat might be therapeutic. I don’t think the cat would help with the President, but who knows? According to the Andersons they can be angels.

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    1. I agree with you about ghosts. I’ve seen one myself decades ago, an aunt who had recently died. Muses are also pretty active. The poem starts with ghosts, angels and muses being relatively silent to emphasize my cat. Thanks!

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    1. Yes, my cat has the benefit of being tangible as well as audible, but then I assume too quickly that she’s just a cat. I needed the Andersons’ book to tell me that more might be going on than I expect to see. Thanks!

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  27. Purrfect jump from the intangible and elusive to contentment in the simple gifts of life. Gratitude for what one has in the moment can be wonderfully calming. ❤

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      1. Does that mean she/he gets more attention when you’re not writing or that it takes more earth shaking matters to ruffle his contentment ? Both would apply to our pet family.

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      2. I would think if there were earth shaking matters we would both lose that contentment until the problems are resolved. How fast it would take to resolve might depend on how much we think we need before we can relax again. I would have to be at home to give her attention at all, but when I am at home my lap is available usually for as long as she wants it even when I’m writing.

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