For Darcy
Introducing my sassy tortoiseshell cat! // a poem
Article voiceover
In the voice-over, you can hear Darcy playing. It's loud but I'm keeping it.
Sweet creature of darkness, Where did you come from? What made you so angry? Everyone says your eyes are intense Furious green against black fur Chin split orange right down the middle 4 extra toes distributed across 3 legs You are my lucky girl She showed me 3 other cats before I met you All of them were hiding, Needing a foster home to be socialized with humans I asked which cat had the highest need? And she pointed to you Alone, in a room, with a red sign on the door DO NOT ENTER You were sitting in a chair, staring, and chirping at me through the glass I had to meet you
You bitch. You tricked me with your purrs and rubbing against me Just to climb onto my lap and bite me Hard You drew blood Evenly spaced puncture wounds around my palm and the back of my hand I don't think I've ever been bit that hard by a cat before As she cleaned and bandaged my hand, the woman said "I understand if this is a deal-breaker for you." But it wasn't. "It will probably happen again." But I wanted you anyway. The woman told me to give you space, but it was clear from Day One that you wanted MY space too. You were all up in my grill for the first month. I couldn't do the dishes without you trying to stop me Tripping my legs, knocking things out of my hands You even shredded my dish gloves! You are a furry menace, all in the name of love.
How much English do you understand now? You seem to recognize cuddle play eat breakfast, lunch, dinner treat I've taken great care to repeat those words at the right moments But I forgot something important. I've called you "Bubba" and "Miss Ma'am" so much that you don't even respond to your name anymore. Darcy, my lovely Darcy, my "dark one" And it's just another sound to you. I must fix this I kept the name your first owners chose. Knowing you now, I am disappointed with how little information they gave when they surrendered you. She said they had a lot of children, and this could be why you've got a short temper I imagine multiple unruly kids, Parents who don't teach them to respect the cat's boundaries I imagine you scratching a child to get them away from you And getting kicked by the parent for it I've known families like that. That one time you got so upset when I moved my leg too fast I wasn't trying to scare you or hurt you But you were so angry and defensive, I had to step away And that image solidified in my mind. You wanted me to prove myself You wanted to find out the limit to your mischief, your violence Hiding around corners, attacking legs Knocking plants down from the ceiling Biting, so much biting, What's gonna finally make them hurt me? You've figured out by now, nothing You still like to gnaw on me, but you've relaxed a lot
You carry toys in your mouth to me when you want to play When I am home, you like to be within 5 feet of me at all times You sleep on my face and I wake up not being able to breathe I know it is dawn when you are meowing and climbing on my chest Eagerly hoping I am ready for breakfast Sometimes I am too fatigued to leave bed, and you lay next to me, checking every hour I think you understand I don't have as much energy as the humans you're used to You're learning to be patient with me too You make me read more, because you hate when I use technology so much You sit on my keyboard, take a swipe at my phone, Angry meows when I don't stop using them How dare this screen take your attention more than I do? And you're completely right. It is a good change, and you are the perfect motivator. "Miss Ma'am" has some authority to it. Growing up in the Bible Belt, it was my personal rebellion not to punctuate my yes and no's with sir's and ma'am's You're the only one I regard with those words. You're the only one worthy! You're also the only one who eats meat in this house. Buying it goes against my principles, but alas, I eschew my values for my dear companion, and feline overlord.
I'm trying to make you happy, and comfortable I'm glad you love your water fountain I was scared to commit to a cat Homeless less than a year before you came, I didn't think I was ready. I thought you would be temporary But once you settled in, I couldn't bear the thought of you being misunderstood again. You've shown me that my fear is enough to know that I will take responsibility. So you're mine now, Forever and always Soon you'll have a sibling If you don't get along, it will be temporary But for your sake I hope you make a good friend, and playmate Life is better with us together, but This is only the start We need a bigger family, and a bigger home We will get there. This is the beginning of the rest of your life Who will you become? Who will I? I'm excited to live this life with you, my friend My Darcy My Bubba
