Pages

Thursday 12 November 2020

Cat Ghazal

On the library sofa sits a purring cat
Curled up and asleep lies a quietly snoring cat

The birds in the garden gather at the feeder
Watched from the window by an alert furry cat

The autumn evening streets are lit by orange lamps
that light up the rushing groups of rain blurry cats

Here come the groups of children tricking and treating
One of them is dressed up as a sweet furry cat

In the barn there is a scattering of rodents
being chased by a family of hurrying cats

The poet sits at the desk in her small study
On her lap for inspiration her purring cat

**

This ghazal was originally inspired  by the resident cat at the Salisbury Centre, where I facilitated a ghazal workshop in November 2009. I've reposted it today, partly to celebrate all the lovely local cats we spot on our local walks (particularly our neighbour's cat below) and partly to remind myself to write more ghazals, I've not written one for a while and it's a lovely poetic form. 




14 comments:

  1. I take it from today's post Juliet, that you really love cats!

    ReplyDelete
  2. almost as much as I love bunnies, Weaver...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love cats too! And they love me as well! There are cats of neighbours regularly visiting me for a friendly chat.
    Thanks for your visit! Have a nice week.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is a very cool cat ghazal. Cat poems always remind me of TS Eliot and this one has that skipping rhythm and finishes in a long slow purring self-portrait. I liked it a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nice poem!! I love it..nothing beats a purring cat on your lap, nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a lot of cats! "As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives .........."!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh I ove ghazals, and this one is so vivid. I must get back to writing them...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome. I can feel the warmth of the purring cat in your lap while I read.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is lovely ..and my two orange tabby cats agree...Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  10. CGP - I can't seem to get the hang of this form. I've done vilanelle, sestina and others, but for some reason, the ghazal elludes me. Any tips?
    (I didn't know you were a cat person.) E-mail me and we can exchange photos. I have four felines.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi kat, I have never had a cat, though when i was a child, the nighbours' cats used to gravitate towards me and my partner's parents had a lovely cat until recently. I do love them though, I'll email you about ghazals...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such sweet regard!

    ReplyDelete
  13. A lovely poem.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete

Hi, thanks for leaving a comment! I try to visit everyone back!