In the last two weeks I've posted thematic lists on both dog poetry and cat poetry. I shouldn't be surprised, but folks are passionate about whether they're team dog or team cat. Which camp are you in? Write your poem this week about a cat or a dog, or if you're sitting on the fence, write about both.
Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.
Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.
Undog Places
ReplyDeleteBy Steven Withrow
In the very undog places of the house,
Those uncat spots unfit for a layabout mouse,
You find a hidden hitch that once dropped loose
From a model switching yard—a red caboose
That must have come uncoupled from its coach—
And if you hope to hold it, don’t approach
Too eagerly, or if you do, pretend
You’re merely kneeling there snooping for a friend.
In the very unbed places where you sleep,
Those still unpillowed spaces where you keep
Your treasure trove of marbles underneath
A cardboard box that guards your baby teeth,
What clovers you unearth on second look!
Or tucked in a book atop another book—
A clockwork heart—and part of you unthinks
The thing that undid the Riddle of the Sphinx.
©2011 Steven Withrow, all rights reserved
Kittens
ReplyDeleteLast night I dreamed of kittens,
a tangle of orange and black
that would not be kept in order,
that mocked and pleaded with me
to offer them milk and sardines
in neat rows of fish-stink.
I grabbed at one, felt
its small soft body twist
from my hands and leap,
grabbed another--the kittens
played daringly, ignoring me
except for a sudden wink
or meow, a brush of fur.
When your life behaves like cats,
which is to say, not at all,
there is nothing to do
but take them all home
and let them choose themselves.
--Kate Coombs, 2011, all rights reserved
Amber Dextrose
ReplyDeleteSweet golden tom,
double dactyl toes
poetry in peculiar motion.
I miss your thunderous purr
more like an idling engine
than a cat's rumble.
I miss your insistence
that mice are not food
though long before we met you
and you tamed us,
field mice kept you alive
in the wild places.
I miss you sleeping
beneath the bird feeders,
on my brass bed pillow,
beside me as I type.
Are you and my dear husband
roaming the Elysians together?
Have you made peace with him?
Or have you gone such separate ways
I shall have to make visits
to each far flung fields,
calling your names, finding you hunting
after death brings us together?
©Jane Yolen All Rights Reserved
A CAT OR A DOG
ReplyDeleteA cat or a dog?
Which one should I buy?
My insides are torn
I'm starting to cry.
Tabby's name is Jane
Pinscher's name is Flynn,
They stare at each other
To see who will win.
To only pick one
Was my solemn oath,
I throw up my hands
Then walk out with both.
(c) Charles Waters 2011 all rights reserved.
Hi Tricia ~ I'm a dog person for a reason...
ReplyDeleteACHOOO
Cats make me snuffly
and sneezy, you see
'cause when they're nearby
I get wheezy, and gee
my eyes itch and tear
turn red, so I fear
that cats aren't
the right pet
for me.
© Carol Weis, all rights reserved
Just a quickie!
ReplyDeleteDecisions, Decisions
Bow-wow?
Me-ow?
Canine?
Feline?
Which will
Be mine?