VanRyan
VanRyan
Jan 18, 2021

Katzenjammer (Caterwauling)

No sleep will come to me tonight
although this human’s dog-tired mind
is weary from past days’ turmoil
and never-ever ending grind.

Where is my restful sans souci?
Where is the grotto that still gleams
in sapphire gem stone’s royal blue
imbedded in my Capri dreams?

Repose does not come tonight--though
not a cricket chirps below the window’s
sill to keep me from my well-earned
slumber. Moonlight’s glow

reflects in two pair blinking orbs
belonging to my silly cats
that are about to caterwaul--
I’m speaking of my feline brats.

Now wide awake, I curse and scold,
but they are hungry, they want chow;
“Go back to sleep,” I cry out loud,
but they talk back, “Meow, meow,

meow, meow, meow, meow;
We want turkey, salmon, chicken;
meow, meow, meow, meow,
ocean fish will keep us licking . . . .”
(Shut up! that’s more than I’ll allow.)

Darn! Repose does not come tonight
(“Shut up! it’s not yet three o’clock”).
They look at me with squinting eyes
and fuss and wail and cry and balk.

My eyes detect those two cats’ bribe--
a dead mouse placed quite near my feet;
that gets me up in greatest haste--
no time to thank them for that treat.

I hit that brass bed’s frame, stub my toe,
then skip and dance and join those brats
in caterwauling, “Ouch! *%$@,
darn, oh darn, darn those noisy cats!”

About This Poem

Last Few Words: Today, I'm having one of my kittens de-nutted; that should calm him down.

Style/Type: Structured: Western

Review Request Direction: What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?

Review Request Intensity: I appreciate moderate constructive criticism

Editing Stage: Editing - draft

About the Author

Region, Country: Arizona, USA

More from this author

Comments

Rula

Rula

4 years 3 months ago

Jerry. Sorry for hurting that toe. Enjoyed the read . I like cats but not their continuous meowing. NEVER .
Thank you for sharing the smile.
And BTW, thanks for the title... Certainly a. new word for me.

VanRyan

thanyou for the nice comment. My wife and I love cats and dogs equally. With the demise of some of our aged pets and our own advanced age, we had to limit ourselves to two cats and one dog. One of our two cats is a real clown, but we adore both. Rula, where have you been? Missed you, dear Lady. Take care. Van (JerryK)

emilya'spoetry

I really like this. 1. I can relate to sleep issues. 2. I need inspiration for my poetry book about mental health, so thanks.

VanRyan

well, except for the occasional friendly offering of a mouse or lizard, or perhaps their nocturnal tousling of our hair, our felines are well-behaved. They keep their nightly caterwauling to a minimum. Btw, they are indoor critters--for their own protection; we have coyotes patrolling the premises and they like tender kittens. Thanks for commenting. Van (Jerry