23. Cat [100 poems challenge]

23.          Cat

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry
Or I would …
If I had a cat …
And its name was Jeoffry.

13 May 2013

Comments (part 1): This first poem is for those of you familiar with Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart, a rather unusual poem dating from the 1700s. Alternatively, since the first might seem a bit of a cop out, here is a second poem, also with some obscure aspects.

Touches of white
On pitch-black fur;
Paws steady
On the rolling deck;
Skulking rats in fear
Of your prowling.
The thwarts and lines
A familiar maze,
The slap and thunder
Of waves on bow
A comforting cadence;
The sail locker
A haven
From storm and gale.
The captain finds
A rare companionship
As unmapped coastlines
Pass abeam;
The discoveries
Are yours and his:
Explorer, mouser,
Feline friend.

13 May 2013

Comments (part 2): This latter poem is a tribute to the exploits of “Trim”, the cat which accompanied Matthew Flinders on his voyages to circumnavigate Australia around 1801-3, and about whom Flinders wrote a delightful biography.

Themes to come: 24. No Time; 25. Trouble Lurking; 26. Tears; 27. Foreign; 28. Sorrow

Explanation about the 100 poems challenge here.