John Long Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

I was 11, that moving day I"ve only twice, so far, seen a cat that looked similar, to that once. I started out writing about the beach, then thoughts of that little cat came to me, kist as tjeu did in a dream, the night before I wrote the poem. Yes, it's a real beach. And it was a popular one, when I visited it, with my borther 

Refugio

Refugio


A long time ago in a little town in old California
I lived on a beach whose name means shelter
The weather was pleasant even in the summer
I sat on a colorful brick wall looking out at the sea
I had a sweet little blue-eyed cat who I had misnamed
I loved it dearly and held it in my arms
Whenever I sitting in the little house
Then one day when it was time to move away
The cat jumped out of the car as if scared
I cried in the back seat for several miles
I sadly never saw the little cat again
I have occasionally dreamed of someday meeting that cat
And renaming him Refugio, after the beach
I have only been back once to visit but no cat 
was to be seen

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CayCay Godwin October 3, 2026 at 7:48 PM I HEAR you, I FEEL you, I totally relate! When moving, truck filled, time to put 2 cats in the car. My Siamese, no problem, but little Mati, a black Angora jumped from backseat thru 1/2 down window and into the woods. We sat, waited a long time. It's naive but I wish Mati had understood. It was 6 yrs ago and I think she still lives in the woods around that house- she'd be about 8. Always a good hunter. Sorry it happened to you when your heart was young, I know it hurt more because of that.