Monday, July 11, 2011

Felis (Wild Cat)

We take your wildness
into our home
our civilized life,
attempt to domesticate you.

Yet our eyes are drawn
to your cousins
larger than our life
as they prowl
through documentaries.
Find ourselves mesmerized
by shoulder blades
fluid under fur.

You drape yourselves
over our desks
tails tapping keyboards
eyes sleepy
yet aware
you watch…

our rush in and out
a bite to eat
in front of a flickering
screen
our silent
screams.

Your wild eyes
capture our slink
as we sift through life
wanting
needing
consuming.

We don’t see
our own mouths
fall open
muscles tense
backs ripple
ready
for the next
kill.

© 2009 Joanne Elliott

17 comments:

  1. Well written.. Thanks for the verse. Have a good day!

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  2. easy word flow, enjoyed the ride in your words.
    cheers.

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  3. stunning piece.



    Please join us with a free verse or any poem you wish to share,

    Have fun making poetic friends.
    Blessings!
    Looking forward to seeing you among us!
    xoxox

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  4. we all have that wild side that can not be tamed, just like a cat....this verse is perfection :)

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  5. You have weaved being domesticated and untamed in this poem nicely.

    Lovely share ~

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  6. Very well written .."Find ourselves mesmerized
    by shoulder blades
    fluid under fur."...Quite so. No other word could describe the intentness with which we watch its slow prowl or the beauty of its movements as it darts forward to kill.Reminded of William Blake's poem"Tiger , tiger , burning bright" But you managed to get us mesmerised by its domesticated cousin as well.:-)

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  7. Meeeow!

    13 years ago I rescued our 4-inches-long Burt from within a pile of wood, on a cold and rainy evening--heard him meeowing. He still chooses me as his sleep partner. I awaken many mornings with his head tucked between my shoulder and chin.

    You write really good poetry.

    Thanks for the visit.
    PEACE!

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  8. David: Thank you. That wild side seems very important somehow, too.

    Heaven: Thank you.

    Nadir: Thank you. That 'fluid under fur' is how I see cats. Thank you for comments and insights.

    Steve: Thank you. And thank you for sharing the story of your cat. I just had to give up a stray that adopted me because we aren't allowed pets. Makes me sad, but at least she has a good home.

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  9. We do have a lot in common. my "Burt" and I. He purrs, and I do also. He jumps 10 feet to the ground and says, "Meeeow!"

    I jump 10 feet to the ground, and spend two weeks in a hospital.

    I love cats! PEACE! Joanne

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  10. the predator and prey, walking through two different worlds. nice. i also like your playfulness.
    here from heaven's place.

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  11. I really like this poem. We do take wildness into our home, don't we? My 'wild ones' are dogs, not cats. I think your point in the last stanza is well made. We all are a bit wild.

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  12. yikes - tight last stanza..usually that wild cat sleeps somewhere on the couch...but beware someone wakes her up...no guarantee for nothing...smiles

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  13. I'll never look at our 2 cats the same after reading this.

    Super-cool poem. I've been watching Cats 101 on Discovery lately and really getting into the stories.

    Wild domesticated humans and cats -- love how you slunk and pounced with your words here.

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  14. Wild cats... yet too true about us, humans too. So many layers in your poem... People offing people. Humans acting with basic survival instinct, never involved enough to look ourselves in the mirror and know - we are not better than them....
    I loved this piece!!!
    Sorry if I'm a bit gushy... But after another close call with a Grad rocket and wishing that a good solution is around the corner, I probably took your write to forein lands... I hope that isn't rude.
    I really like your poem!

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  15. v interesting parallels and inferences here. Like this; thought-provoking

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