Graceful leap in streaming sunshine, the cat waits
still, but for his twitching tail, watching the elusive prey.
Another cat, sleeps in the waning sunlight.
Brothers of other mothers, they’re playmates,
sometimes foes, they chase, and wrestle, stay
or slumber, following the arcane rules that cats keep–
rules unknown to humans. But now as sun fades and night
falls softly, they sprint, then patter; they groom themselves, then sleep.
NaPoWriMo, Day 15; I’m using today’s prompt to write about pairs or couple with yesterday’s form, a san san, an eight-line poem that repeats three terms or images three times. The rhyme scheme is abc abd cd.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
I love your way with words, Merril. 🙂 Cats do have their own rules, that’s for sure, and I have never been able to figure them out.
Thank you, Robin. That’s so kind.
We always laugh about how one of the cats loves to play ball, but we can’t ever figure out the rules to the game. You have to throw it a certain way, and then he runs–or not–or runs somewhere else. But he loves to play!
You probably knew I would love a cat poem! My dear kitty Tiger is sick though. Please give her a nice cyber pat and some kind words. We don’t yet know what’s wrong with her.
Oh no, poor Tiger. I hope it’s nothing serious.
She just ate some of her regular food!!! She was so sick yesterday and today and then all of a sudden wanted some food. I hope that is a very good sign!!!
It seems like a good sign to me! Yay!
Your cat watching the “elusive prey” reminds me of Mabel the goshawk in Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk, a book I just finished reading. Perhaps you have you read it too. You may not like to read about predator birds but the author’s language is beautiful, poetic even.
My mind has to do bendy twists when I think how you turn an idea into brilliant poetry using such strict rules/rhyme schemes. Brava, I say!
That’s very kind, thank you, Marian!
I haven’t read the book, although I’ve heard of it. The squirrel had jumped onto the screen first, causing our Mickey to leap onto the table. I swear the squirrel was just taunting him then–he could definitely see both of us.
That squirrel definitely knows what he’s doing!
I love the way you used the san san form here. Rhythm of cats. (K)
Thank you, Kerfe. Yeah, that squirrel definitely knew what he was doing. 😉
I love it! “the arcane rules that cats keep” and the rhythm that keeps the rhyme so subtle, and of course, cats. 🙂 Really lovely use of the form.
Thank you so much, Jennifer.
Love this poem! No surprise since I love cats 🙂 Your poem reminds of two of my cats: Wendy and Junior. Years apart in age, different moms, sometimes friends, sometimes foes. But I also really like the form. I’m “studying” poetry and I appreciate you taking the time to explain the form. I’m reading Stephen Fry’s The Ode Less Traveled and learning how hard poetry is to write 😉
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I’m learning poetry and different forms as I go along. 🙂 I will have to look for Stephen Fry’s book. I imagine it is amusing.
Oh, yes, Fry is very amusing but challenging too. I would have loved to have had him as a prof when I was in university 🙂
Wouldn’t that have been fun? 🙂
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