Hello everyone!
Daddy, and his efforts at poetry over the years have finally inspired me to give it a shot. ;-D
While you read my efforts I'm gonna go hide. ;-D
The Ballad of Catigan’s Mile
(With apologies to The Castaways and George Wyle and Sherwood Schwartz)
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this backyard porch
After everyone had catnip.
The scaredy cat was a mighty Turkish Van,
The leader a Pixie-Bob and sure.
Five neighbors joined them that day
For a short little tour, a short little tour.
A passing Dog went woof, woof woof,
But the tiny group was sloshed,
If not for the courage of the fearless two
Their lives would have been lost, their lives would have been lost.
They ran until their legs were sore for one whole mile
There was Catigan
Skipper too,
The Abyssinian and his mate,
The Egyptian Mau
The Siamese and Siberian,
Running for a frantic mile.
So this is the tale of the indoor cats who went astray,
They've been missing for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.
The scaredy cat and the Pixie-Bob too,
Will do their very best,
To get the others back home again,
To their warm and comfy nests.
No tuna, no Meow Mix, no fish flakes in jars,
Not a single Litter Box,
Like Kitty Catusoe,
As primative as can be.
So join us here each week my friends,
You're sure to laugh and smile,
Over seven cats who went astray,
Down along "Catigan's Mile."
Ok, with what I am about to share, I think it's safe for me to come out of hiding. ;-D
Words have meaning.
They can evoke the whole spectrum of emotions in those who read, or hear them.
They can inspire a Cat, or Dog to great deeds, and to terrible ones as well.
And that's just the effect of too much Catnip, or , um, what IS the equivalent for Dogs anyway?
Seriously, all manner of literature exists that this applies to.
One genre is that of Poetry.
From the simple, and short, to the long, and involved, the various forms of the Poetic Tradition have had a hold on the imaginations of feline, Canine, and human for thousands of years.
Consider the HAIKU:
3 Lines:
5 syllables.
7 syllables.
5 syllables.
A while back I shared some Cat Haiku Daddy was sent. ;-D
Here are my contributions:
Nikita is Nine
He thinks that really is fine
So does his Daddy
I like the Catnip
Yes I do, I do, I do!
Please do not run out!
Fleas are annoying.
I hate scratching them all day.
Bring on Advantage!
Indoor Cheshire Cat
To see world outside needs leash
Thanks Dad, you the best!
Big bowl full of fish
Temptingly swimming near me
Great! I am starving!
Then there is the TANKA:
5 lines:
5 syllables.
7 syllables.
5 syllables.
7 syllables.
7 syllables.
God bless the pussycat
A creature fun, brave, and smart
Loved, it gives love back
In your time of greatest need
may you have one at your side
And finally, consider the uniquely American equivalent of the Haiku.
The CINQUAIN:
5 lines:
2 syllables.
4 syllables.
6 syllables.
8 syllables.
2 syllables.
The Cat
Playful creature
Always looking, nosey
High, low, dark, big, small, all fair game
Brave Puss
Oh, and don't forget the Limerick!
A light humorous, nonsensical, or bawdy verse of five anapestic lines usually with the rhyme scheme AABBA.
There once was a kitty writing on a Blog
Whose efforts readers raised in toast their Grog
So he continues to write
During the day and the night
The urge in others to do it to he hopes to jog
There lives a Cat in Santa Ana
In his house he is Top Banana
A lone roommate is he
For his Human Companion, you see
So that's why he is #1 in his cabana
I'm issuing a challenge to the Catosphere.
Put your thoughts about all things Cat, from A TO Z, all that is good, and great, unique and wonderful, confounding, and controversial, about our species, into the lines of these simple poetic forms.
Traditionally Haiku begin with a natural scene tied to a season, and Tankas also begin with an observation of a natural scene.
But that's tradition, and you don't have to follow it, on any of these forms, if you don't want to.
Just avoid end-rhyming the lines, try to vary the rythms from line to line, and you can keep a sentence moving to the next line if you choose.
Also try to avoid ending too many lines in a row with a one-syllable word.
Got it? ;-D
If you use an entry of your blog to try your hand at this exercise, trackback to this post, or send me an e-mail (See sidebar), and I will do a round-up of links to all who take the challenge.
To anyone without a blog post your poems as a comment to this post.
If you decide to send me a poem, or 3, in e-mail, instead, I'll post a collection of those I get, and give credit where credit is due.
Don't be shy.
And borrow your Human's dictionary to check your syllables. ;-D
How fun!
I had never heard of a cinquain before.
My haikus are on our TCT group page, but I love your blog here and will check back often~
Posted by: Lancelot | January 28, 2008 at 07:29 PM
Glad ya enjoyed the poems! :-D
Posted by: Nikita | January 29, 2008 at 01:57 AM
Nikita, this is even better than your Catster Diary!
We're going back to corral you so that we remember to come & see what you are up to!
Paws up!
Posted by: Snickers | February 01, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Love it!
Definitely 2 paws up!
Purrrrrrs,
Your bud, Pepi
Posted by: HotMBC | February 03, 2008 at 08:36 PM