Sunday, March 19, 2017

Naming of Places

 
 
Naming of Places   (WG 11)
To-day we have naming of places for a domestic cat
Yesterday we had feral behavior
To-morrow we shall learn what to do with mice
After catching them but to-day
To-day we have naming of places to be
The neighbor’s dog is a rowdy one he always barks at me
 
This is the hungry cat’s food and water bowls and this is
the litter box whose use you will see,
 when you are given your next meal. And this is a king-size double-bed
which in your case you have not got. The brook
in the forest holds a lot of minnow which in my case I have not got
 
This is a clicker. We will use it to communicate. You will learn
Where to be and how to behave. For me, it is quite easy
with a flick of a thump. If you pay attention,
you will get some delicious treats to motivate you.
In the meadows, the hares are boxing letting everybody see
How they use their paws for their chosen one
 
And this as you can see is the cat door. The purpose of this is
For you to get a bit of fresh air. Its hinges are horizontal
So that it opens at the bottom, you can see. It opens with a little push
from Pus. It swings forwards and backwards from either side of the door you see
And backwards and forwards the ole tomcats on the prowl
hurry singing to the blue moon above
 
 
They call it naming of places: It is perfectly easy if you obey
They show you all the places you can be and what you can do
But I -  I want to be at the babbling brook with its frisky minnows in the forest
I want to see the boxing hares in the meadows fighting for their chosen one
I want to slip out the front door and listen to the tomcats on the prowl
Going backwards and forwards in the alleys howling at the moon
But to-day we have naming of places
 
 
 
 

2 comments:

  1. Do domestic cats dream of wild things? I guess they do...
    Nice job in maintaining the Reed structure, and some - but not quite all of the specific catch-phrases in voice one to ensure recognizability as pastiche/parody. The cat's own voice in the last part of each of stanza 1-4 and all of stanza 5 is quite original and independent of the Reed original's diction. Normally that would be fantastic, but in a parody/pastiche situation it's a bit more tricky. But it does make the poem more interesting on balance, I think...

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  2. I see your points clearly. In the case of a cat as the protagonist it is quite tricky to put it in a situation that resembles military trainig between officers and privates.

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