Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
With all the excitement over a lion or other big cat roaming a Milwaukee neighborhood, I thought “My Cat,” by Valerie Worth, would be appropriate for today. It’s from the book Pug & Other Animal Poems (see it on Indiebound or Amazon). The spread in the book even resembles the video stills that are being shared. (Have you seen the video?)
Here’s the stealthy, almost mystical poem.
My Cat
Tamsine roams
The garden
Like an old
Familiar spirit,Visiting the
Weedy fence,
Examining
The bushes,Noting how
The wind revolves
And where the
Sun advances,Printing every
Shimmer, every
Shadow, with
Her presence,Which will
Stay to haunt
The place when
She is gone.–Valerie Worth, all rights reserved
Isn’t that lovely?
And here I am reading it aloud. I got a new little mic for my iPhone, and it’s supposed to make it sound less scratchy and hissy. I can’t tell yet–I need to listen to one of my old Soundcloud recordings and then this one.
[soundcloud url=“https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/215986227” params=“color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=“100%” height=“166” iframe=“true” /]
And if you liked “My Cat,” here’s another Worth poem I shared on Teaching Authors.
Teacher Margaret Simon has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Reflections on the Teche. Don’t miss her lovely hospitality and tons of awesome poems.
44 Responses
Including Pug in the title and cover picture was clever. Thanks for sharing one of Valerie’s poems with us. I enjoyed your reading of it.
I hope the big cat is found soon and no one gets hurt.
Me, too! One dog has already been shot in the hysteria:>(
Including Pug in the title and cover picture was clever. Thanks for sharing one of Valerie’s poems with us. I enjoyed your reading of it.
I hope the big cat is found soon and no one gets hurt.
Me, too! One dog has already been shot in the hysteria:>(
Valerie Worth is my favorite children’s poet ever! Thanks for sharing.
She is kind of magical:>)
Valerie Worth is my favorite children’s poet ever! Thanks for sharing.
She is kind of magical:>)
I love the simple way this poem follows the cat. Poetry is observation. Valerie is a master.
True. So simple and beautiful. I loved Irene’s poems for you!
I love the simple way this poem follows the cat. Poetry is observation. Valerie is a master.
True. So simple and beautiful. I loved Irene’s poems for you!
It really was an amazing video of that cat roaming through. Valerie Worth writes magic, and I loved this book, and the cover, too. “Printing every
Shimmer, every
Shadow, with
Her presence” I guess this also relates to your Milwaukee presence!
The video gave me shivers!
It really was an amazing video of that cat roaming through. Valerie Worth writes magic, and I loved this book, and the cover, too. “Printing every
Shimmer, every
Shadow, with
Her presence” I guess this also relates to your Milwaukee presence!
The video gave me shivers!
I hadn’t heard about Milwaukee’s lion sightings. Hope the mystery is solved quickly and no other animals are hurt. Mystical is a perfect word to describe Valerie Worth’s lovely poem. Thanks so much for sharing it today!
So glad you liked it, Catherine!
I hadn’t heard about Milwaukee’s lion sightings. Hope the mystery is solved quickly and no other animals are hurt. Mystical is a perfect word to describe Valerie Worth’s lovely poem. Thanks so much for sharing it today!
So glad you liked it, Catherine!
“Noting how the wind revolves and where the sun advances…” Very nice.
Glad you enjoyed it, Monica. Thanks for stopping by!
“Noting how the wind revolves and where the sun advances…” Very nice.
Glad you enjoyed it, Monica. Thanks for stopping by!
I love it. Makes me miss having a cat!
Me, too:>(
I love it. Makes me miss having a cat!
Me, too:>(
It’s so hard to bring something fresh to a poem about a cat! I appreciate the mystical quality of this one. Thanks for sharing, Laura.
I agree–nothing like a common, general topic to challenge a poet:>) Loved your poems for Margaret!
It’s so hard to bring something fresh to a poem about a cat! I appreciate the mystical quality of this one. Thanks for sharing, Laura.
I agree–nothing like a common, general topic to challenge a poet:>) Loved your poems for Margaret!
Printing every shimmer, every shadow. Wow, that’s beautiful. I’m watching one of the neighborhood cats (not a lion, thankfully!) wander through my back yard as I write, and she is doing exactly that printing with her presence. Lovely.
Isn’t it? So glad you enjoyed it!
Printing every shimmer, every shadow. Wow, that’s beautiful. I’m watching one of the neighborhood cats (not a lion, thankfully!) wander through my back yard as I write, and she is doing exactly that printing with her presence. Lovely.
Isn’t it? So glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for sharing Valerie Worth’s poem. It’s just beautiful!
So glad you liked it, Penny!
Thanks for sharing Valerie Worth’s poem. It’s just beautiful!
So glad you liked it, Penny!
I adore Valerie Worth. She’s Steven Withrow’s favorite children’s poet, and of mine as well.
I adore Valerie Worth. She’s Steven Withrow’s favorite children’s poet, and of mine as well.
*she’s*
*she’s*