Best Cat Got Your Tongue Poems
unwilling to speak
let alone write
I know what I'll do
the blame's not on you...
it's that silly cat, you know
"cat got your tongue", now also your pen?
tell me why
tell me when
"Here kitty....kitty...
bring that back here to me!"
cause your rhymes read out of time
once simply sublime
now crusty and bland
no life in your hand
walking down your poetry lane
heart heavy with pain
ghosts peek a boo
and I wonder, is it true?
there's not a line that is new?
Are you dead or alive?
oh, but I've got my pride,
yet I frantically search
Hoping to find
that feline on the run
well, you know which one
that cat that got your tongue...
and to my abject sorrow of sorrows
that cat's also run away
run far far away
with
your
glorious pen.
Eileen M
I see your bright colored plumes and your cocky arrogant beak
you think you got a trumpet in my ear but oh ,you wait and see
how beautiful the end result will be, once you CLAMP
It is no ones business but my own what I write and re-write in
the name of perfection. Cat got your tongue? Well finally we
got some peace round here, I'm entering IT
Are you expecting those old parrot tapes to enter my heaven?
I'm busy inputting so I I can't hear your hell
so fly away from me bird from Alcatraz cuz I'm not this, OR
That,
I will not listen anymore. REMOVE
that silly grin off your plucky face and give me room to be
the best that I can be. I'm unreeling, re-dealing, getting
ready for the authentic manuscript of the Century. So bird on
you.... Get over YOURSELF
You don't own monopoly to my mind nor my imagination
get going bird, I got it covered so pluck those poisoned feathers
off my back and let me grow wings, that won't harm or attack
leave me in peace to write .
January 14, 2019
Through Their Eyes (originally "Just Desserts for Rats")
Still touching the hilt of the sword, she declares,
“No fencing for HIM at the end of the month. His pastime is so bloody boring!”
The mouse in her house regards her with cockiness from underneath a chair.
“Yeah, BEN, my FRIEND, I’m talking to YOU.” She returns the mouse's stare.
“And you sure do make a racket at night down here on this kitchen flooring!”
The ashes she flicks from her cigarette fall soundlessly to the tiles.
She casually leafs through a travel brochure, then looks over at “Ben.”
“Yeah, that husband of mine sure thought he could fool me,
but he’ll never try that again.”
She fixes her gaze on Ben’s beady eyes; then back on the pages and smiles.
The names of rendezvous spots of her husband she’d got
from a slime ball she’d hired to sleuth.
“He did a good job, that big tub of lard. Yes, I do have to give him that,
but he sure knew how to give me the creeps with his body all sweaty and fat.”
She puts some milk on sweet rice in a bowl. “I only wanted the truth.
Cat got your tongue? Too bad there’s no cat. I’d love to see you swallowed.”
The mouse doesn’t flinch.
Now she looks down at a pile of the sleuth’s photographs.
“This first batch of photos wasn’t so hot.” She turns to the rodent and laughs.
“But this second group. . . .Every cent was well-spent
to have that bastard followed!”
She puts the rice pudding with milk on the floor near a form centered there
and stoops as she pours from a bottle marked “poison”
its contents into the bowl. Leaning down by the shape on the floor,
she says, “Soon you‘ll have Ben‘s company.”
And then to the mouse: “ Come here, little rat, come eat till you’re full.”
Then grabbing her bags pre-packed for Australia,
she kicks at the corpse on the floor so carefully centered -
kicks right at the spot where, by her hand, the sword so easily entered.
Written 8/18/2012
Simple Pretense
Shut up!
My God. Can’t you say anything positive?
Can’t you say anything that will sweep this darkness away.
Away from the corneas of my soul?
I know where the light switch is. Do you?
I know where the dog has buried its bone. Do you?
I know what lurks past your knees.
Crazy gravitational forces will have the final word.
Burning breathless whispers at midnight
Will tell of the final spasm.
Of the final heartbreak,
Of the final flat tire,
And of the final kiss.
Here, take this smooth stone.
I found it in the turtle garden with the cacti.
And with the black droppings of reptilian pretense.
Go ahead.
Say something now.
Cat got your tongue?
Never mind.
It’s all been said before.
The mad earth continues to turn like a dumb dog
Chasing its tail before the melting mush is served.
Sometimes I sit all alone,and remember all the promises we made together,than I see them fade away in the wind,kind like the petals of a flower, were feelings over come my fear,than I remember you had me on a spell,you deserve a round of applause,you had me fool, you always was embarrass of me,according to you I was the clown,were all the tears you gave me,were behind the jokes i made,and the smile I kept from fallen down,you deserve a round of applause,what's your next trick?,try to break my heart,or better yet,lie to me, make me fall back to your arms, what's the matter cat got your tongue,that's not suppost to happen to you, your like the best when it comes to magic, you once told me I was your light,trust me not the light of the dance floor,more like that old abandon light bulb in your closet door, you deserve a round of applause,you had me fool,I could swarn,that trick was real,you gave me so much to think about,and tears to deal, what's your next trick? Run away with someone else and forget about me? Do me a favor and erase my mind,and blind my eyes with more lies, you can't miss ,it works every time, for your last final trick, steal the show with your screams and hits,this time I'll know,I'm not to blame,you can hand cuff me,and rip my heart once again,don't you worry is just a stage,sometimes I sit here all alone as I turn the page,the rip pages of our love story,I finally came to the end,did you know she didn't love him cuz he wasn't cool,oh wow! you deserve a round of applause you had me fool.
it tried to deep kiss Mary now her lips are hairy
"Cat got your tongue?"
Written under duress 1/5/18
Cliche contest
Hosted by Silent One
(Continued from Bill's side 10“)
"Never mind that. I know you well enough to know you know what you’re doing.
Just stick with me and keep me informed especially on this one. I’ll give you as much
leeway as I can. I got a hunch this case is going to be rough in more ways than
one. Get me? I’ve been around a while. I didn’t come with this morning’s milk. The
Captain and I already been discussing this one with the Commissioner. This
vigilante thing is dangerous and already out of control.”
Bill still didn’t know where this was going but at least so far he hadn’t been
demoted to walking a beat. His hope and nerve was picking up. This Griggs guy
was tough and had a rep for no bull. “Yeah, that’s wha ….”
“Just shut up and listen, Sgt. Lipton. The Captain doesn’t want any part of that
vigilante case. He wants a good record for an upcoming political agenda. That’s no
secret. He doesn’t want anything to do with this case because he’s afraid it won’t
get solved and his record will be stained with it.
You just stick to what you’re supposed to be doing and keep your ear to the
ground. From experience I know that vigilante.. if it’s just one,... isn’t going to work
out his issues in just one precinct. Keep in touch with what’s going on while you’re
on and off duty. If you got to check something out off the cuff, you are to ask me
first. Get it? Mums the word to the Captain. If he hears anything about our talk I’ll
deny every bit of it and you’ll be left holding the bag. Do you get my drift here Sgt.?
……… … .. …. “Cat got your tongue?”
“No sir, I just…uh …yes sir I mean ….I get your drift.”
“Good , I enjoyed our conversation…now haven’t you got someplace to go? It’s
knock off time. I believe your up for mounty duty tomorrow.”
“Yes, I believe I am. Is there anything else Lt Griggs?”
“Yes, close the door on your way out.” Bill took his hat up off his knee, stood up and
walked the three steps to the door when Lt Griggs said without looking up from his
paper work on his desk, “Bill…?
“Yes sir?”
“ Glad to have you back“, he said with a more relaxed tone, “Now get outa here.”
And he went back to his case file.
Bill smiled, went to his office, traded his ball cap in for his Stetson and left the
building mulling over what the Lt had and had not told him.
(to be cont on Richard Pickett poetry site)
https://youtu.be/0ETcDPT5aqQ
https://m.soundcloud.com/user-921599710/bully-oh-bully
Pronunciate, predominate, preponderate, prevaricate,
Precipitate, pontificate, pomegranate, postulate –
Problem?
Do not attempt to look these words up!
That dictionary shouldn’t be w-i-d-e open like your mouth
Or can’t you handle multi-syllabic lexis?
I thought you were TOUGH, MIGHTY and STRONG
Yet lower,
Lower,
Down into the ground
A million thoughts lay scattered, here, there and everywhere
WAIT A MINUTE
I thought you were INVINCIBLE and POWERFUL
So HARD that you could DEFEAT anything that came your way
I THOUGHT YOU COULD RUN AND hide
Why, this room is as LOUD as s-i-l-e-n-c-e
I see that your friends aren’t with you now
What happened to your BIG mouth! Cat got your tongue?
But when your friends are around
Your tongue can’t resist a good workout
Up, down, t-w-i-r-l it a-r-o-u-n-d
I thought that Audacious was your middle name
Oh, here comes Georgia Giraffe. Cat got your tongue again?
The old YOU jumps out and reveals itself
When YOU LOOK down AT PEOPLE
Those known as the vulnerable
So why is it that when people LOOK down AT YOU
You put on a mask?
Such an innocent and friendly face!
Scared now? Met your match?
I thought that if you had a pound for every fight you had won
Every human alive would be penniless
Silly sausage! Oh, sorry! Offended?
Truth hurt? Are you a victim?
Well, imagine what it feels like to be a victim!
Where the world is an e-v-e-r-l-a-s-t-i-n-g nightmare
Look here, look there, but there is no escape route
I-m-a-g-i-n-e what it feels like to want to t-u-r-n back the clocks
Where you can never see the shine
If it isn’t too much of a HARD task, then
Bully, OH bully
-Imagine-
Written by Geraldine Taylor ©
her sudden untimely death left her speechless ~ silence is golden
Cliché: Cat got your tongue?
January 5, 2018
Contest: Monoku 5: Cliché
sponsor: Silent One
My Boyfriend is, the Cat’s Meow, a Fat Cat.
He stays Busy as a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, think of that..
He says the way I look is like: “Two Tom Cats in a Gunny Sack”.
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs but we need a snack.
We were Busier Than a Three Legged Cat in a Sand Box,
but I opted to go for Bagels and Locks.
He Was On That Like a Pack of Dogs on a Three Legged Cat.
I kept thinking While the Cat’s Away the Mice Will Play.
When I got back he Looked Like the Cat who Swallowed the Canary,
He was Nervous as a Long Tailed Cat in a Room Full of Rockers.
Well, There’s More Ways to Kill a Cat than Choking it With Butter.
I got him busier than a One Eyed Cat Watching Two Mouse Holes.
Cat Got Your Tongue? I cooly extol.
When he finally Lets the Cat Out of the Bag,
I tell him to take his Alley Cat Morals and Scruples of a Snake,
and Quick as a Cat, vacate, don’t lag.
Take that Cheshire-Cat Smile and Walk His Last Mile.
© Apr 10 2010
Shadow in the Dark
I see you staring at me,
But who are you?
What do you want?
All you do is stand there and watch me,
Are you my guardian angel?
You walk closer to me and you still don’t say anything,
What is it?
The cat got your tongue,
Why you watching me?
Do you know me from somewhere?
I’m too afraid to come to you,
So I’m asking you from a distance,
I notice you look taller than me,
Then I turn another way we are the same height,
Just figuring out you could be me,
You are my shadow in the dark.
CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE--SAY SOMETHING
There once was a cat named Fluffy
And his demeanor was tuffy
Your green eyes to I spy
purr-purr- purring you are
Eye contact and you curl your back
JuMpInG from floor to counter top
Tail waving back and forth
Why? won't you say a word
Something wrong with the poem
Ouch!!! Meow-say something
What's wrong, cat got your tongue!
10/25/18
Written by James Edward Lee Sr.©2018
Tempest is brewing the bridge overhead,
sways the strands of titanium on pillars of stone,
dusted in my fists like onyx beneath gold.
Crows circle the lonely woman in the desert,
as she crumbles they make quick like piranhas,
cadaver for a school class dressed in a shirt.
The leaves crunch and crumble in the moonlight,
the sounds of footfalls and heavy breath,
not from me but from it I am afraid.
Salt water crocodiles deep beneath fresh river,
anaconda makes one roll like a top sideways,
a door opens in a pyramid in Egypt.
Pharaoh calls forth a sandstorm of mummies,
their faces of birds and dogs howling cawing,
then later there is screaming of children.
Crepuscular ball room we dance my eyes kitty,
cat got your tongue claws not genitalia sweetie,
they all float in the river with scarlet necklaces.
Pandora’s box is a labyrinth known to Alice,
Wonderland is hatters madness and we, dead,
are all inside drinking tea and eating cakes.
Zenith of onyx razor blade and black rose petals,
tilt a whirl of viscera and crimson matter turn feathers,
phoenix of legend has returned and darkness with it.
That’s why I am here meandering rodents,
you think you’ve seen dark poetry mmh,
with eyes sewn shut I highly doubt that.
First rule, art is not painted holding back colors,
I don’t conform and I don’t jump hoop to a whip,
game they say, well let’s see you play darlings.
Oh, and I didn’t become a poet, I was born a Poe hit.
Egomaniac is necessary when you walk gothic,
down an alley sliding a blade sparks fly off the wall.
Marsupials scurry…. I’m hungry for mahogany meat.
PLAYING WITH CLICHÉS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
recycle plastics... what goes around comes around
~~
thirty-six twenty-four thirty-six... fit as a fiddle
~~
where there's muck there's money... all that glitters isn't gold
~~
see the facts... use a mirror... don’t get your knickers in a twist
~~
speak out or... has the cat got your tongue...
~~
history... good or bad... only time will tell
~~
true love... every cloud has a silver lining
~~
how times have changed but.. opposites will always attract...
~~
mother nature begs... recycle... don’t cry over spilt milk
~~
who told that lie... all is fair in love and war
~~
don't whisper... speak up or shut up
~~
be in it to win it... a bird in the hand is worth two in a bush
~~
recycle... live long and prosper
~~
at weddings... many a true word spoke in jest... i do...
~~
if only... speak now or forever hold your peace
~~
playing with words... isn't that a cliché...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inspired by Silent One's challenge Monoku #5 cliché
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poetry/contests/monoku_5_cliche_11070#MemberContestDescription
If a cat got your tongue
And deer's are chewing gum
Yeah! and when pigs fly
Monkey see monkey do
Why? then do onions make you cry
What you gonna do?
1/17/18
by James Edward Lee Sr.