She Purred

She purred and purred her thoughts away
She purred them into her kittens every day
She purred her love
She purred her sacrifices
She purred her hunting techniques
She purred her hopes
She purred her fears
She purred her thoughts for their futures

She purred each kitten into being, into life
She purred each personality into place
So that once they got old enough
To grow into themselves
They would each grow into the person
That she knew they would best become

There was a little grey tabby girl
As fluffy as she was smart
She purred into that tabby girl
That she would have a heart
She purred that she’d be swift enough
To outrun unwanted toms
She purred that she’d be smart enough
To share her kittens with any mom
She purred that she’d be fierce
A protector of kittens and humans alike
She purred and she purred and she purred

There was a little black boy
Whose coat was short and sleek
She purred into that little black boy
That he’d be kind and meek
She purred that he’d be loving
That he’d always make friends
She purred that he’d be caring
Always ready to make amends
She purred that he’d be socially skilled
The glue that held the family together
And she purred and she purred and she purred

There was a little calico girl
As agile as can be
She purred in some more agility
So she’d never fall from a tree
She purred into her curiosity
With just the right measure of fear
She purred mechanical ability
So she’d try to work out what turns a gear
She purred that she’d alway wonder
What made the world turn
And she purred and she purred and she purred

There was fluffy black tuxedo girl
Who had a heart of amber and molten lava
She purred into her liquid sunlight
Just to make her light even brighter
She purred into her wisdom
So her instincts would lead her right
She purred into her excellent eyes
So she could see in the blackest of nights
She purred into her charisma
So that other cats would heed her warnings
She purred, she purred, she purred till morning

And if you could ask her
She’d say
“I took what was already there.
I purred a little here
And I purred a little there.
I gave them nothing they didn’t already have
I just purred more into their strengths
And I purred less into their faults
Except when they needed their faults
Then I purred a little there, too.
I purred them songs in their sleep
I purred them stories as they nursed
I purred them complicated Cattish rhythms
That only a cat understands”

And then the kittens started purring back
They purred to their mother
And they purred to each other
And their purrs got more complex every day
And they blended with each other
And they blended with their mother
Until all their purrs were a giant harmony

And the little grey tabby grew into
A fierce and shrewd mother
And the sleek black boy grew into
The heart of the littermates’ family
And the little calico grew into
A feline engineer
And the black tuxedo girl grew into
A visionary cat

And they all loved each other
And they all had respect
For the roles their mother purred
Into their hearts
And they all slept together in a pile
And they purred
And they purred
And the purrs melded together
In perfect rhythm and harmony
As if they were designed that way
And they purred complicated Cattish rhythms
That only a Cat can understand
And they purred and they purred and they purred