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Open Poetry #24
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Shadow
| Open Poetry #24 |
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Shadow |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass 
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I wonder, am I the only guy who ever wrote an elegy for his cat? Shadow It isn't that she's gone, but that she's the shape of her is not present but still presence, there but not by being the empty space where just a thought, a pattern, small unpresence that is just to see her not there where she would be now, when soft black fur I can almost feel her, one time more the warmth, there by the door nearly hear the blinds move as she passes let her in but she is gone. |
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| © Copyright 2003 Ed Ratledge - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Oh, Ed...you've not been 'round long enough to get to know LongJhnAg, our resident kitty-kicker...your timing is excellent in posting your elegy to your beloved pet...as he is not here to make fun of the fact that she is now gone, he can be delightfully wicked that way... and yes, I have done the same, and will perhaps bring one of them back for your perusal soon... Now, if we can just keep LongJhn from coming in and kicking this around,... [This message has been edited by Sunshine (01-31-2003 03:36 PM).] |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Ed...I have loved many cats...and have mourned them also. Perhaps the cat spirit still comes to you because it is still in your heart. I understand this. |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
That's exactly it. You get so used to the patterns and habits that your eye almost puts 'em into the picture where they would be. Not a ghost, but it might as well be. I'll not have another one, though. ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
I was trying to show two almost-conflicting trains of thought here, by splitting the text. Does that work? ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Ed...I just went back to read...each reads well a a seperate poem. Cool! |
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Wind
since 2002-10-12
Posts 2981 |
Well I can understand you wanting to write something like this. I enjoyed it. I am living proof that ghosts exist. Which is an oximoron but I don't care ;) |
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Severn Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704 |
Awwwwwwww I love my kitty...I have loved many many cats, and they become friends - not just little furry animals that whine for food. They are profound little creatures...with life lessons in them I think. The other night my flatmate and I found a cat on the road that had just been killed. It was quite late at night so we went to the few homes that had lights still on. Couldn't find the owner...then a bit later, I heard a sudden wailing and my heart just contracted...I can still hear it you know - grief as powerful as that for any other loss, including human life. Split poems - works well...just like a shadow...nice visual effect of the content... hugs  K |
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nakdthoughts Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200Between the Lines |
It worked, that is how I read it, as that is how I have been writing today although I did mine in italics to show the two different trains of thought.  I love my cat, I don't think I will get another if and when it is her time to go. M |
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Cpat Hair
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793 |
yes it works well..and no you are not the only one to write such... skillful construction the dual poems shadowing each as our thoughts often do. enjoy the talent..and send sympahty for the loss.. recent or past... The owl is back… Closer now, It seems to sit in the barn Just a few yards from the house. It's mournful hoots Lie upon the stillness Like the thin crescent moon That rests now on the horizon. It's been two days… And I am reminded of the stories Told by an old man I knew Of the owl being the spirit of Those who have left us. Two days… Since I built the little box And we dug in earth, that Seemed as reluctant to yield To our efforts, as we were to Let her go. We placed her inside And fastened the lid tightly, Put her in the space between Two trees and with tears.. Covered her. The owl is back… And it seems closer this morning. It's hoots lying on the stillness Like the crescent moon Lies on the horizon And like you are In my thoughts. |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
I think we think alike, nakedthoughts. To me one cat is a beloved friend, but more than one might be a habit. I'm what we hicks call a "one-man dawg..." Besides, Shadow was utterly unique. For instance she had been abandoned twice in two years before she joined our family. And by families whose male heads wore blue. So among other things she had all the particulars that would inset in a cat's personality. If I wore blue she would cling, sometimes with claws.... and woe to us if we started packing anything into boxes! Pathetic! ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
AND THE CAT CAME BACK, THE VERY NEXT DAY WE THOUGHT HE WAS A GONNER.... nice eulogy [This message has been edited by Midnitesun (01-31-2003 07:31 PM).] |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
LOL -- that's a better way to think of 'em! The irony is that I didn't want to take her in, but the rest of the family did, so I went along..... and ended up missing her more than any of 'em. Oh, and Sunshine -- I've worn Long Johns, they don't bother me. If they did, I'd tie knots in 'em, in places you can only mention over in "Mature Content"........... ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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RokoRoo New Member
since 2003-02-16
Posts 4 |
Brought me to tears. Cats are indeed very special souls. ~Jan |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
Well, just between you and me, that's my test for a poem of this kind. If it brings ME to tears while I'm writing it, I figure it's probably ok.... ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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Waterbirdfly Junior Member
since 2003-02-16
Posts 32China |
very good!great! |
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wranx Member Elite
since 2002-06-07
Posts 3689Moved from a shack to a barn |
Good write Ratleader. And, in answer to your question...b_squirrel has posted one to his (roommates') cat. I believe there has also been this sort of goodbye posted for a rat (no offense). Ed |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
Ya make me laugh, wranx! ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
Many years ago, I clipped a poem from CATS magazine... about the spaces that were no longer filled. Until I read this, I didn't think the ghosts that haunt and refresh our grief could be explained better... This is going into my library... but it's also going to be printed out... it belongs with Elizabeth's picture. *S* |
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