and yet you seem to be
a little fond of me all the same.
You call your cat Bast, after the Egyptian,
and she subscribes to that mythology.
Likewise, if I show up with Athena's owl borrowed upon my shoulder,
you are keen to hold her and to tell her how fine she obviously is.
The only ring we are ever going to have
is the one made of silver light upon your bedroom floor,
where Bast curls up with her lunatic dreams.
Athena's owl asks for a bed post perch, and never the slightest thing more.
I am not quite rooted in reality, and yet
you always forgive me and share your room,
where my only wish is to be with you
and dance by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
together by the light of the moon.
_______
I have referenced, of course, Edward Lear's "The Owl & The Pussycat" for Fireblossom Friday at Real Toads.
Re: the picture up top: when I was little, every day I would pretend I was some kind of different animal or bird, so much so that the man next door started asking me "What are you today?" I'm an adult now, though, and besides, everyone knows I'm a cheetah. ;-)
What a delightful combo! Bast and Athena's owl, and a little spilled sunlight. Purrfect! Woohoo!
ReplyDeleteLove the heck out of your process note. In your poem I love the image of the Bast sleeping in the silver ring...lunatic dreams. Excellent...but you knew that! ;)
ReplyDeletejust Bast without "the"...the was because I was going to say the cat...any way.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely imbue Owl and Kitty with all the symbology their regal frames can hold, and they strut through this poem showing it off with glee. And under that, of course, a very tender love poem as only you can write. Difficult to make Lear's wry wit so non-Britishly emotive, but it all works.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it I always feel like dancing by the light of the moon when reading your poetry? Also agree with Hannah re the process notes ... big smiles here.
ReplyDeleteNow, wonder what I might be today?
awww. sweet and sad, too.
ReplyDeleteYou are kick@ss. Every time I come here I leave smiling.
ReplyDeleteThis really is delightful, Shay.
ReplyDeleteI still love reading that poem! You captured the magic perfectly!
ReplyDeleteI love it, Shay. I remember being little, and wanting to dance by the light of the moon...it sounded so wonder-full, as your poetry is wonder-full.
ReplyDeleteK
I love it, kiddo....the moon, the moon, the moon......
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 13, I would sneak out of the house with a friend and we'd both dance by the light of the moon. We wore caftans (they were quite in style then, for evening entertaining, but the only ones we entertained were ourselves...
ReplyDeleteI love this challenge and am trying to get organized after my vacation and back to writing poetry. (Left three "boys" at home and they did an ok job. But, not up to my standards)
ReplyDelete