Frisky the Beautiful

Composed on 27 December 1985

Chance brought us together
The two of us and our calico cat

We called her Frisky- my wife and I
For the quickness of her eyes.

Hide-and-seek we played
In her early years of life- my Frisky and I.

Later years brought her grace
With a calico coat shiny and glorious.

And as the years rolled by
Through joy and sorrow, she remained by our side.

Proudly she would walk up to each and all
And greet them with elegance and chance.

Aloof she remained when she fancied to be
Yet close she lay if it needs to be.

Sensing our thoughts she would hurry at once
To place her paws by our side with a bounce.

Perched on the lap, she would glance at the face
Filled with contentment, love and grace.

Gentle though she was most of times
A trace of the wild did remain.

For the things she disliked, a growl was heard
With a gentle bite on the hands or feet.

At the sound unfamiliar she would bounce
With a question mark to announce.

Thus Frisky charmed us for ten years and one
the prettiest calico on earth.

Sad was the end, and it broke my heart
As I sat through the night by her side.

Breath after breath she struggled for life
As I gave her the oxygen by the mask.

That sad and departing glance with her lovely eyes
Leaves us mourning for the rest of our lives.

And all that remains of our Frisky beautiful
Is a memory in the hearts of this twain.

Authour's Annotation: Suzanne and Abdul Rasheed absolutely adored cats. I am not sure where she got it but Abdul Rasheed definitely got the cat-lovers' gene from our maternal Grandfather Bodufenvalhugey Seedi's side. There are still very well-known cat-lovers among grandfather's descendants and some relations. Cats have lived in the Maldives, particularly Male, from time immemorial, but Maldivians are not generally known to be great cat-lovers. In fact cat-loving men, in the Maldives, are look down upon as a bit soft and sissy and a great many people regarded cats with either indifference or great cruelty. As I see it, the general attitude of a people towards animals is a good indicator of high up they are on the food-chain.