Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poet Laura: The Consequence of Cats

By Sandra Fox Murphy 7 Comments

cat standing on head

Once again, it’s the dog or cat question? Ideally, my preference would be one of each, but that’s a tightrope hard to walk. Perhaps the stereotype of cats and women has some basis of truth to it, but I started my life surrounded with a dog or two. As a young girl, my grandparents had a terrier and a chihuahua, and then through my growing up years, my family had a black Pekingese in Portugal and then two pugs when we lived in Texas. As an adult, I had pugs, a cockerpoo, and I rescued a collie mix, Sasha, from the pound when my husband fell in love with her. She went well with his rattling 1952 Chevrolet pickup.

But all that changed when my oldest daughter found a scraggly orange cat near the stock tank on my girlfriend’s ranch and then, a couple years later, kids came by the house with a box of orange kittens, minus one when they left. Odd how those two orange cats changed the pattern. Tigger Two grew up with my youngest daughter, and when that daughter was in high school, we adopted McGee who traveled with us to live in Virginia and then back to Texas. I now live alone with a bossy old housecat and a feral kitty named Lily.

In late spring or summer, I’ll be doing a Poet Laura reading to the chickens, and I hope there are chickens. It was sad, today, at the grocery store to see the shelves empty of eggs because of the rampant bird flu. But what about reading to cats? Well, as I read A.A. Milne’s Pinkle Purr, my two cats stared at me for about ninety seconds with an “is there food?” look in their eyes, and then they each walked away to other places. Yes, we know who’s in control, and though cats may not be filled with poetry, poetry is full of cats. They are such a metaphor, an enigma, hold their own power, and I find T. S. Eliot the poet most intrigued by cats. His poems of cats could certainly fill a textbook of analysis, but I do love Macavity.

“Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed ….”

—excerpt of “Macavity” by T. S. Eliot

Macavity is the rabble-rouser from the play Cats, and Eliot modeled him after Moriarity in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Memoir of Sherlock Holmes. Eliot brought the quirks of cats to life, naming them all.

I, too, have numerous poems about cats. But what about the dogs? I do not believe I have one. Shame! My “The Holly Tree” is about McGee’s gravesite in my yard, and then there is the poem about his loss (a poem I wrote in one of Megan Wilome’s workshops):

The Reluctant Goodbye

An image stays
behind closed eyes,
like a phantom—

as if a cougar
stalking its prey—
you can’t look away.

And there’s an empty
spot in the bed,
familiar chores

and rituals
no longer vowed,
the times we’d

play in the midst
of day.
It’s that look

in your eyes
that haunts me still,
as you sat serene

on a steel table
near the vet who’d
said

“Don’t wait
too long.”
That last vision

of you sticks around,
how you’d trusted me
and I let you down—

that trusting gaze
still steals my sleep,
still makes me weep.

—Sandra Fox Murphy

 

Lily the cat

Lily, photo by author

 

And then there’s Lily, the liberated feral with her own story:

Sleuth

She slipped into the house
             and vanished.
Strolled in on hushed paws
seeking a safe spot,
             concealed from me
as my housecat sniffed
             her essence
and mulled his defense schemes
while the feral kitten cowered
             somewhere
or not. She’s but a vapor
poised here and there,
scattering like a rainstorm
drifted toward the drought
             of a western flatland.

—Sandra Fox Murphy

In seeking out poems about cats, I came across some devastating verses I will not share, but we all know that cats, like much wildlife in general, have often been mistreated by mankind, and perhaps, that explains a cat’s reluctance—their uppity attitude. But here is an excerpt from a poem, by Pattianne Rogers—a poem I love for its pure creativity.

Tweetspeak Poet Laura Chicken“And the tail of the night flicking
Through the calls of the clover and the spring
Stars slinking past the eyes of midnight
And the hour of the field mouse passing
Through the claws of stars ….”

—Excerpt from Finding the Cat in a Spring Field at Midnight by Pattianne Rogers

How vivid is this field and the night in Rogers’ poem as it becomes the cat? It reminds me how everything is threaded and connected. And Marge Piercy’s poem, “The cat’s song,” is a delight:

“Let us walk in the woods, says the cat.
I’ll teach you to read the tabloid of scents,
To face into the shadow, wait like a trap, to hunt.
Now I lay this plump warm mouse on your mat.”

—Excerpt from The cat’s song by Marge Piercy

So, in that vein of Piercy’s poem, here is my poem with its threads weaving cats and life:

A Lame Farewell

Out my side-eye, a lumped creature
lays in Texas sun beamed to the patio.
My squinted eye sees its bunny legs
stilled forever, the feral kitty

looking my way. “See the gift?”
My new knee only three days old,
stiff like the roasting rabbit,
I grip the rail of my walker

as the corpse bakes outside,
know I’m too feeble to bury
the remains, dignify its departure
as I foresee its swelling decay.

Visions of beetles, worms, perhaps
a vulture feasting beyond the pane.
Under veil of nightfall, I hobble
with walker and shovel out back,

gather a sad hare, and unable to dig
a hole, blanket him deep // beneath
shaded shrub, bid him goodbye
with apology. Envision his spirited

yesterday in a rare summer rain,
blithe in a neighbor’s unmown grass
unaware of menace. I travel a similar

road in my blurred years, at the mercy
of predators and frayed rugs—
the reaper lurking as I tend to days
of birdsong, waxwings wary of peril.

—Sandra Fox Murphy

Your Turn

How have cats (or dogs, etc.) impacted your life? Why must they leave us so soon? Write about how their personality fits into family life—how do they master you—how do they fill your heart? Or in the words of John Scalzi, an American sci-fi writer, “in a dog-eat-dog world … be a cat” (from his novel Starter Villain).

Photo by d’n’c, Creative Commons License via Flickr. Post by Sandra Fox Murphy.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Sandra Fox Murphy
Sandra Fox Murphy
Sandra grew up everywhere as a USAF dependent, rootless, and when exposed to the beatnik poets at Indian Valley College, was smitten with poetry. After retirement from the U.S. Geological Survey, she found herself immersed in storytelling, and ensconced in Texas, researches small-town history and is the author of six novels, including Let the Little Birds Sing, the beginning of the Fidelia McCord Trilogy inspired by a young girl who came to Texas in 1847. Aging Without Grace is her first poetry collection, and her poems have been published at the Ocotillo Review, The Write Launch, Humans of the World, The River, and in several anthologies. Sandra's muses are the environment, history, and the natural beauty and mystery of place.
Sandra Fox Murphy
Latest posts by Sandra Fox Murphy (see all)
  • Poet Laura: Gardens and Grandpa - May 7, 2025
  • Poet Laura: The Beats, National Poetry Month, and Earth Day - April 2, 2025
  • Poet Laura: The Consequence of Cats - March 5, 2025

Filed Under: Blog, Cat Poems, Poet Laura, poetry prompt

Try Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Bethany R. says

    March 5, 2025 at 10:15 pm

    Charming photo of Lily. Looks like a character in a storybook.

    I enjoyed reading your collection of thoughts and poetry. Reading to cats made me smile. And what a sweet reflection at the end there (amongst other places). Lovely how you tended to the hare’s farewell best you could. <3 These beautiful, yet bittersweet lines caught me in the throat.

    "I travel a similar

    road in my blurred years, at the mercy
    of predators and frayed rugs—
    the reaper lurking as I tend to days
    of birdsong, waxwings wary of peril.

    Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

    Reply
  2. Sandra Fox Murphy says

    March 6, 2025 at 9:52 am

    Bethany, I’m so glad you enjoyed my reminiscence of pets and cats and the plethora of cat poetry. The Eygptians made cats into gods, and they still hold their power. Attitude is a mighty tool.

    Lily is a jewel and a survivor. That’s why she a five-year-old feral. I”m looking forward to our next cafe get-together and returning to writing some more eco-poetry. … Sandy

    Reply
    • Bethany says

      March 6, 2025 at 12:45 pm

      I’m also looking forward to hanging out together and writing at the next Creativity Café. So cool that you will be writing more eco-poetry. See you in five days!

      Reply
  3. L.L. Barkat says

    March 7, 2025 at 10:42 am

    This was such a fun post, Sandra! Glad you are feeling free to bring your humorous side forward. 🙂

    And now I want to know about Portugal…

    Reply
    • Sandra Fox Murphy says

      March 7, 2025 at 10:58 am

      Thanks, Laura. Oh, Portugal … the Açores! Maybe I should write a TS essay about that … because those years, my teen years, were so special and the Portugal islands were the most serene and beautiful place I’ve lived.

      Reply
  4. laura says

    March 8, 2025 at 9:56 am

    I loved this post, Sandra, although I have a complicated relationship with cats, especially the ferals–due to my love of birds. Did you know that cats are the number one cause of bird deaths? There is a big movement in the birding community to encourage ppl to keep their cats indoors. I know, I know, cat gotta eat too. Just not my little birdies, please! We have several feral cats in the neighborhood and I am forever shoeing them out of my yard. I would try to trap them, but the shelters around here only do one thing with a feral cat … And so, I guess my heart is still soft to these beautiful creatures because I can’t bring myself to be the cause of their demise. When I was growing up there was no such thing as an indoor cat. Our cats did their jobs of keeping away the mice and other critters. Now I want to save those for the owls and hawks and other native species. But this is life, no? Always the push and the pull. Your poems are lovely, as usual. Thank you for touching my heart this day.

    Reply
    • Sandra Fox Murphy says

      March 8, 2025 at 10:25 am

      I totally understand, Laura. As sweet as little Lily is, her mom raised her to be feral. I had to move my birdfeeders out of my backyard because my feedings were leading the doves and blue jays to peril. The finches and cardinals seemed better at avoiding her She’s better now (or has a new hunting ground). I cared for her brother and sister as well until the other two vanished, and once the male (Thoreau) brought me a full-grown lovely squirrel he’d killed. Always (sadly) gifting me for the warmth and food I’d give them. They are such mysterious and independent creatures! I’m also saddened by how many birds the wind turbines are killing. Everything has its consequences.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our May Menu

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

The Graphic Novel

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

How to Write Poetry

Your Comments

  • Glynn on World War II Had Its Poets, Too
  • Sandra Fox Murphy on World War II Had Its Poets, Too
  • Glynn on Poets and Poems: Kelly Belmonte and “The Mother of All Words”
  • Bethany R. on Poets and Poems: Kelly Belmonte and “The Mother of All Words”

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2025 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy