With Regards to the Feline Species

Recently one of my friends had a bad accident happenned to the family's cat - Snowy. I hope he pulls through. What prompts this entry is the last remark my friend made on his blog regarding that accident - "Why did the cat have to cross the road?" or something similar to that effect. I have cats too, and I understand that they can be difficult creatures to predict or understand. I shared with him this poem I wrote relating to the complicated kind of relationship a cat may have with its human owner. Enjoy!

The company I keep

A breath of fresh air came near me
As I sat, tooling with my pen, stumped
Studying my mien, leaping on my knees
Nuzzling my chin, asking for a kiss.

I declined. She reclined.
I resisted. She persisted.

Perhaps when I feel more sociable
Your presence I’d greet.
Still baffled, both wishing to be rapt
I turned to my paper, she coiled at my feet.

Lambert (04/08/2000)


This I did not share with him. It won't do the family's morale much good reading this. But if he happens to check this blog, I hope he finds it interesting too. Snowy lives still, Mate. It is a piece of creative writing I shared with my class a few years back. Enjoy!


My Unforgettable Aloysius

I shed tears, of happiness and of sadness, when I think back of my friend, Aloysius. He is not with us anymore, God bless him. He had given me many memorable moments to cherish in what short time he was with me.

Aloysius came to me one dark starlit night when I was woken up by a scratching at our front door. My husband, being such a cautious creature that he is, had a baseball bat with him as he flung open the door, fully expecting to see a monster. Alas, it wasn’t, it was to be our friend – our Aloysius. Shivering, as it was a cold night, mewling of hunger, the little creature rubbed its body against my leg. I melted when I looked down and saw those big blue eyes.

We adopted him. Or Aloysius adopted us. We became very close, every member of my family, from our little Emma to the gruffly Allen, our first born, took to him immediately. He quickly became one of the family, never to be left out from all activities or events.

He was there, weaving between our legs as we went about our chores around the house, loudly screaming should we forget to feed him, disdainful at times in his treatment towards us. We loved him nonetheless. When little Emma barked her shin running up the stairs, Aloysius provided comfort for the girl. Cunningly grabbing the girl’s attention by jumping onto her lap, he dried her tears by cocking his head and staring into her wet teary eyes as if he was incomprehensible of her cry. He nuzzled her, the girl’s tears eventually dwindled, and her sobs soon turned to laughter as the little creature successfully made her forget the mishap that befell her.

That was but one example how he had brightened up our lives. He was always there, most of the time undemanding and somewhat submissive, but always attentive to our mood. He was as bright as the stars that lit the night when he came to us.

Sadly, he wasn’t long with us. His playfulness proved to be his undoing. Chasing a butterfly that fateful day, he strayed into the path of traffic as I watched in horror. The scream stopped in my throat as I heard the thud of the car’s bumper knocking into him. He was thrown into the air and landed near my feet. Our Aloysius died after having been with us for a short eight months.

The whole family grieved his passing. Mostly, the emotion showed in tears, and suggestions of adopting other pets. The latter was vehemently snubbed for fear of another loss. Nothing will ever replace Aloysius.

To this day, Aloysius is very near to my heart. His time with us will always be cherished; the thought of him makes me understand how valuable companionship is.