The cat looks very introspective,
Reviewing life from her perspective,
From time to time I hear her sighs,
And then I see her close her eyes.
Dreaming no doubt of mice, she lies content,
her energy drained her gusto spent,
It causes unnecessary trouble and strife,
When you try to discover the meaning of life.
for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC), introspective.
Hi, Pete.
It’s true: sometimes cats seem to be engaged in profound meditations. Do you know what they think in those moments?
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Hi Cap, I have a theory that they think: “where would be a good place for my next nap?”. Somewhere between that and “Is it dinner time yet?” But I could be wrong!
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T. S. Eliot unravels the mystery in the Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats :
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there’s the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey–
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter–
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that’s particular,
A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there’s still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover-
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
🙂
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brilliant!
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Liked it and me, not a fan of poetry! So few do it well, fewer do it properly. I know few really good poets. You’re pushing the threshold. Thanks.
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I decided to try it and discovered it was fun, so you might find the same, if you ever try. I also find it tends to be more popular than my prose posts because (i) it is shorter (never a bad thing!), and (ii) it is generally inoffensive material like cats. I suppose (iii) if I want to make a serious point, if can be far more entertaining in a poem, provided I do the actual poetry well. I tried to parody the UK govt’s response to covid in a poem, but I’m not sure how well it came across.
I’m still very much a novice but I like what I’ve found so far.
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Lovely poem!
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Thanks Irene. Our house is currently inundated with cats, so it is easy just to “write what I see”
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