Saffron

Cherry

By Ray Schaufeld

Mon, 06 Oct 2014
  • 3234 reads
9 comments
 
Furry hussy!
You nudge and nuzzle my breasts.
You pick and slobber bitemarks on my cheese.
 
Get out!
Scramble walls, slither roofs, pad ledges.
 
Repel the bold black bandit.
Next door's kitten.
Furr up, grrowwl, chase.
He backs away... four feet.
He's not afraid.
 
Swat a fresh wasp.
Make her bizzle on her back in diminished arcs.
I flick her over the wall
Before you scoop her in your maw.
 
You get away with too much
Because of your loving beauty.
Melting dark palette of lights and colours,
Semi-longhair affectionate purrbox.
Soft, so soft.
 
 

 

 
 
Certificate PG
Poem
Variegated leaves
Nature

Comments

Submitted by Bee on

Hi Elsie. 

I love tortoiseshell cats. You really captured her personality. 

Enjoyed.

Bee x 

ps. Lovely photo.

 

Bee

Submitted by jeand on

Hi Elsie

I liked this poem, and your choice of words - bizzle on her back - purr box, etc.

You make your cat sound like fun, despite the occasional annoyances.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Bee, jean thanks for reading and commenting. Yes it's a lovely photo. I have a friend who is able to show subjects to their best advantage I got him to to do my mugshot too. Yes, Jean Saffron is fun when she is not being a pest. Aww but she's so soft and sweet.

Thanks too for the cherries.

Submitted by VeraClark on

Elsie, not fond of cats but made my heart melt. Reminded me of an ancient tortoise shell I had as a child. That last verse is gorgeous.

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Thanks for commenting. I'm sure I would have loved your ancient tortoiseshell cat too. Torties are slightly freakish genetically, they are usually the offspring of a ginger tom and a black and white queen (name for female who has offspring). The males are almost always sterile and when the females give birth there is no way of telling what colour the kittens will be. Surprising then that there are so many of them.

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Wonderful stuff, elsie, and a wonderful photo to bootsmiley  Love cats, myself...more than.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Elsie, I'm not particularly fond of cats, but I enjoyed your piece which seems to have captured so much feeling, enjoyment, and action in a few lines. Rhiannon (I had missed this as it wasn't under 'poems' but looked to see when I saw Bee's reference)

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Tina, Rhiannon, thanks for reading. Yes Saffie is a very active cat!

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Next door's kitten grew hard and tough and Saff used to run from her until the neighbours moved.. These days she has a housemate. Or thereabouts. Dorrie was an impulse purchase from Torbay Cat Rescue. They get you with the pictures... She is 4 years older, Saff is now 4. Dorrie was described online as 'a sedate sweetie'. She is a former stray, a tabby beauty with a dark back and never looked sedate. A mix of boldness and insecurity with damaged health from her streetlife so I have had a couple of vet bills but from the info they gave me about recent chest infections I sort of anticipated this. The pair of them are like neighbours who sometimes co-exist and sometimes growl and chase. They both get the same food but Dorrie is always at Saff's dish. I gave up separating them at feeding time as Saff still looks sleek and healthy.

Sandra  from Torbay cat protection was great.  I could see she was good pals with Linda who looked after Dorrie till she was well enough to move in with me, they had a long chat about all the cats they knew. Sandra gave me lots of helpful info on settling a second moggie. She has 6 at home and her hubby is okay about it. A woman who takes her work home with hersmiley