The Cat's Meow

By John I. Blair

Is it coincidence
The sound of cats meowing
Stimulates the same part of our brain
As the sound of babies crying?

Ten thousand years ago
On the isle of Cyprus
A man was buried with a cat –
Oldest hint of cats and humans bonding.

That in turn implies
Shared voyages in tiny craft,
Anxious humans, cats
Meowing at the warm waves,

Grain-filled baskets,
Swarming rats and mice,
Hungry folk in villages,
And pouncing cats.

Though we may no longer need
Assistance from our cats
(Nor they from us)
We’ve come to need each other,

Linking still through meows in ways
Neither could have guessed
While living under
Sunny Cyprus skies.

©2020 John I. Blair, 10/17/2020