not a dream

I wake up

and the radio is talking about Freud's 'On the interpretation of dreams'.

the painters have arrived

stomp stomp

over the roof

stomp stomp stomp

I look at the cat.

And I think are dreams like this?

The cat has their life

something defined, somethings not,

if I howl* at them for long enough they'll feed me after the sunsets

(not Note at 6pm which is what we humans thinks happen)

and then there are these moments

strangers come to the house

strangers who the cat has never seen, heard, smelt before

and they start to water-blast the skin off the house

what does the cat think of this?

is

this not like understanding a dream to the cat?

the cat doesn't understand the phonecall I made to the painters

the cat doesn't know I knew they were coming

(still, I shudder awake at nine when I have been woken a second time**

by the arrival of the painters - I was up till 3am last night)

(I must get up - I must work

but first my dreamlife & my not so dreamlife...)

But the cat sees I don't jump up

I'm not shocked or surprised

I head to the doorway

and sing / call / meow - (however the cat perceives it)

to these unknown people

who smell of chemicals no doubt

who the cat doesn't know

who aren't from around here

but then I hide inside and they blast the outside of the house.

to the cat

isn't their perception like mine with a dream

not understanding the greater details

the moments of human clan dealings

make no sense

or at least

a surreal dreamlike logic...

the cat disappears into the cold winter outside world.

the cat's waking world.

* = the cat definitely howls

(I suspect it tries to wail like a baby since twice upon a times it has lived with families with small newly borns to the age of 2)

** =the cat alarm clock works (intermittently) at a 7am feed me ring