Best Sadcat Poems
Panting in low moans
Meandering through dense brush
Shrouded by evening sky above a forest
Crystallized by frozen branches
Oaks, maples, pines
Coffin wood encasing icy earth
The amber-eyed predator’s fur
Damp and matted
No prey in sight as hunger grows
While creatures huddle with their clans
In feathered nests and sheltered lairs
She trekked on frozen leaves confused
Longing for the comfort lost
She couldn’t understand her plight
Life had once been kind
As dawn dispelled the sandman
A cry I heard outside
Weak and wanting tones of desperation
A child lost? A babe who strayed?
Anxiously I donned my coat
Fearing what I might find
On this late December morn’
Listlessly she scratched and sobbed
The glass door kissed by thick ice
But when I turned the knob
And pushed the panel forth
Her tragedy bit hard and sharp
Her tender paws, raw with dried blood
Infection had sealed one eye shut
A bony spine, frostbitten ears
So fast I took her in my arms
Cradling this wayward soul
Reaching for a blanket, sharing salmon
A faint purr was my thanks
For warmth and love and food
Peering at her one good eye, I wept
Overcome with pity and grief
I realized the selfish act
That led this sweet one to my yard
College youths on Christmas recess
Left her on a nearby road
Before they joyfully headed home
I found their tiny cat today
Abandoned, nearly dead
Stung by an act of thoughtlessness
Fear not; the one-eyed cat will live
A refuge I’ll provide
But do not ask me to forgive
The sin that made her mine
For P.D.'s Pet Contest.
Dedicated to Katie Cat, my pet of more than 20 years.
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the door,
it just stood there till forest ranger
knocked to check if widow raccoon was alright.
rain was very nasal that night; so she said
i’m fine with my woolen frock and lights on,
and shut the door and slid on her
antique couch.
then, a brownie cat from nowhere land jumped
through the sill and landed on widow’s lap.
brownie cat purred and meowed like a violin
in the middle of some broken refrain. she was
so pretty and had some scratch. widow raccoon
laughed and both had milk with lemon biscuits
for midnight snacks…as night stretched longer,
brownie took a shower and read nursery rhymes
with widow till sweet cat purred more with
gentle licks on widow’s prune cheeks. oh, how
raccoon flashed a wide grin for the first time
in years.
facing brownie she said it would
be nice to have dear stray cat for keeps…
canine pet crooned and purred some more
as they slept under tap-taps of rain while tiny
stars gently spun away. morning came; brownie
danced for her mother widow but sprained
her shoulder. i better put some balm on that,
raccoon pulled newfound cat near her chest.
oh, brownie had a name tag and flea collar
around her neck. fluffy kitten couldn’t be hers;
they hugged so tight as teary widow dressed up.
holding brownie on swaying arms, sad raccoon
swooned, it’s time for you to get home, and opened…
the door.
all rights reserved
©
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(( for Francine Roberts' " Tell Me About It" ))
In the jungle of our collective heritage
In our wild teaming with endless species of flora and fauna
In the savannah, the tropics and the deserts of our kingdom
There is place for neither the honest nor the peace-loving
I am not adding to adages, I am talking reality
I am talking about the principle of virtue
And of the practicality of vice
I am talking about the cat family of our jungle life
That is celebrated for disrupting our conscientous existence
They are deemed meritorious because we are miserable
Because they are admired, our clamours go unheard
We are lowly, we are vulnerable, we are defenseless
We set our table with vegetation, but graze them with trembling
We respect their pathways but they don't respect ours
Under the lush delicacies of our livelihood, they ambush us
By the edge of our collectively-owned flows, they await us
They parade majestically and in showy antics, they stretch and growl
We see their prowess and bravery flaunted, and we cower into shades
They mock our meekness, even our gentleness, they deride
They mistake our peacefulness with cowardice
We are no cowards; we are only not favoured with their strength
We recognize our weakness the way they recognize their strength
And we bow loyally to their wishes and decline their contests
But our every decline provokes and challenges their ego
Our surrender and our protest are alike to them
Our existence is their headache, yet their means of livelihood we are
They will not stop until they have suppressed us into extinction
Unfortunately, when we are gone they shall be gone too
They shall comprehend the truth but very late
That though the cat rules, the jungle shall breathe without it
But without us, there is neither the jungle nor the cat
No more lies, no more broken promises
Each false word directed at me, just strips me of yet more apathy
Keep you your deceitful smiles and fictitious kisses
And just stay away from me, you’re nothing but a predator you see
The rage, it builds up deep within
Stalk the dark like a cat each night, dripping with a voracious appetite
But there is no way you're getting under my skin
Your egocentric wallowing in delight, is about to end abruptly tonight
The face of broken shadows stalks the ground
Now I don’t worry about life any more, now this quiet cat finds its roar
Tomorrow is the hunt for a life profound
You pathetic mewing I will choose to ignore, for now I am free forever more