My cats never pretend
to be something they are not:
when they want affection,
they seek affection;
when they want solitude,
they seek solitude;
when they want food,
they ask for food;
when they want warmth,
they find warmth;
when they want sleep,
they sleep.

But we humans…
how complicated we make things,
coming at our desires
so obliquely.

How might life and relationships change
if we followed the example of our cats?
We could begin
with no longer pretending
we are something we are not.

Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.