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A Concatenation of Catchwords

 

 



My daughter’s cat has captivated her family.

Even I – being more of a dog person (Timmy our Jack Russell hates cats) – found myself admiring his grace and beauty, and all those skills a cat deploys and enjoys. 

Thinking about their cat, I realised how many words contain 'cat'; so it was that this poem took shape.

Predictably, I then thought I should write a dog poem.

I didn’t actually get very far, having identified only a few dog words: after dogma/dogmatic, dogged, lying doggo and Venetian doges I began to run out. So the dog poem had to wait, its tongue hanging out.

But having just gone to my (big) dictionary and found a long list of dog words and phrases, ranging from a certain Shakespearian Dogberry through dog collars, dog days and dog-eared to a dog’s dinner, the Dogstar and dogwatch, I now feel like telling Timmy something can be found to be thrown, and he can wag his tail – even chase a cat.  



A Concatenation of Catchwords 


Where did you come from, my little cat –

Cathay, Catania or perhaps Kathmandu?

By catamaran, or by cat-size mat

which fluttered your way from a Roman catacomb?

 

Wrapped in your cat’s cradle, caterpillar warm

you catwalk in your catnap, purring all the while

as you dream cathartically – ancient deiform –

of catalysts, catafalques and Cheshire cats who smile,

 

of cathedrals and catheters, even cathode rays –

through the cat-flap in the darkness, past Catch 22.

No cause for caterwaul.  The catechism says

in the catastrophic catalogue the survivor will be you.

 

There’s not a cat-in-hell’s chance you’ll suffer from a cold,

catch catarrh or be sent to Catterick.  Never need a CAT scan,

no cataract or catatonia, even when you’re old –

I’d rather be a nine-lived cat than a single one-life man.

 

A cat’s to be found in its own special category

different from a human who is clumsy and half-blind.

I may be rational, but eschatologically

a cat is superior, leaving me far behind.






Thank you for the photos Ben!

 

 

Comments

  1. To Catch .... In the UK, estimates suggest that domestic cats kill between 160 and 275 million animals annually, including 40 to 70 million birds. This figure can be broken down further: a 2003 study by the Mammal Society estimated that UK cats brought home 57 million mammals and 27 million birds in just five months. Later research suggested that this only represents a small portion of their actual kills, meaning the true number of wildlife fatalities is likely higher.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this one just made me happy as a Cheshire Cat 🐈‍⬛🐈 Luna

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  3. As a feline lover this wonderful poem made me smile and reminded me how much i miss my 3 much loved pals!
    Your poetry is beautiful, heartfelt, sometimes tongue in cheek humorous sometimes causing belly laughs! Always a treat no matter what the subject! Thank you for years of interesting and fun poetry...you're the cats meow!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. When the cat has finished walking by itself, will it make pronouncements ex cathedra? Words that form a chain, a catenary, intricate, delicate, complicated.
    No
    Felis Catus just says”Nenni, none of your business where I come from, all places are alike to me”

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing. I thought it might catch my attention! I look forward to some doggerel next… cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doggone! I’ve been catalytically converted

      Delete

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