Aggro Zen,
a short story of pre-visualization.
Aggro-
According to the Urban Dictionary this is
a term that has been used for decades by surfers and other water-headed types to describe someone who is overly and unnecessarily aggressive, competitive, or asinine whilst in the water.
Prolonged exposure to the aggro can ruin even the best session, so “deal” with them immediately (read: choke with your leash then return to your state of zen-like calm once they are dead)
I like the image of chilled out surfers
choking aggressive surfers with their leash
and then
calmly going back to a zen state with the waves…
the breath of the planet…
I recall a childhood memory of Mr. Dooley,
our family protector,
a spirit animal of German Shepherd – Collie decent
always with us, watchful, in the yard.
It is summer.
Mr. Dooley, ever vigilant, resting in the shade,
brother in the sandbox, nation building.
Upside down, I rest in the tree above them.
enter:
a particular neighborhood cat
this cat
taunted us daily,
pacing and calling out from the fence top.
nameless, testing, marking, rattling its tail
several days passed in this way…
It was hot.
Texas Hot.
The particular cat sauntering along the fence line
measuring;
marking the boundary.
Mounting the fence,
walking the usual path
calling out..
On the eighth day,
Mr. Dooley rose stretching his body…
he walked to the fence
and
In a singular, elegant gesture cleared the top
grabbing the cat by the head as he passed
one smooth motion of his head upon landing,
cat neck breaking,
head releasing;
cat body suspended weightless in backward rotation
and Mr. Dooley…
bouncing back up
over the fence
to lay down in the shade of his favorite tree
ever watchful
as if
nothing
happened.
and that
is how I remember the zen duet with a particular cat.
