War and Peace: A Tale of Three Kitties
– Renee Adele Phillips
‘Tis the night after New Year’s, and as is often the case,
Monty is sleeping; the boys and I are awake.
They’re sweet, loving muses, these three boys of ours—
they’re ideal companions for quiet night hours.
They sit near me or with me as I work and I write—
they’re perfect coworkers. Just not tonight.
Seamus is with me in his usual spot
when he sees a movement and takes off like a shot:
Carrick has dared to enter Seamus’s fort;
he has breached a perimeter in a clear act of war.
Seamus lunges at Carrick, but Carrick won’t move–
this is his moment; he has something to prove.
But Seamus has strategy; he’s ready for this–
he attacks from the rear with a threatening hiss.
Mackin is watching, his tail all bushy—
he makes a run for it, to the top of the cat tree.
Seamus and Carrick are boxing each other,
I push them apart, saying “Listen to your mother!
It’s time to stop fighting—it’s now after four;
Nice boys are sleeping; they’re not starting wars!”
They of course do not listen, but I know how to make peace:
I announce to them both, “Only nice boys get treats!”
They abruptly stop fighting, wanting seconds and thirds;
I reward bad behavior, then go back to my words.
But soon I’m distracted by Mackin’s new hobby—
scratching the wall from his perch on the cat tree.
I can’t concentrate now—it’s like claws on a chalkboard;
Carrick, meanwhile, runs a lap on my keyboard.
My words, thanks to him, are now gobbledygook.
At this rate, I’ll never produce a whole book.
At least Seamus is sleeping, next to me on the couch;
I lay my head on his side, he purrs, and then—Ouch!
He’s gotten his claws tangled up in my hair;
he yanks at my bun ‘til my scalp feels bare.
I close my laptop; that’s all for tonight–
I tell each boy I love him as I turn off the lights.
I say, “Please make good choices, you wild Irish posse.”
Seamus’s face says it all: “You’re not the boss of me.”
Monty wakes up when I come to bed;
he squints up at my bun, askew on my head.
“How was your night?” he mumbles to me.
“Uneventful,” I answer. “Now go back to sleep.”
Share this Post
Comments 6
Great poem I could jest see the playing going on, if the stay awake and play you can watch your pets for hour’s. Our three dogs are sometimes much more entertaining than anything Jean are doing. When our dogs stop running circles around the house and drop they always want that’s what everyone likes. They will not let you go to bed without them, and that gets a little crazy as to who sleeps were. Pets are what keeps me going sometimes.
Got to sign off and go fix my golf cart so we can go down to the gulf and try to catch a couple of fish of course the dogs go with us they love the beach’s they can go to.
Keep working on that book if your fur babies let you😊
Later, love♥️
Grover
Grover–yes–animals are far more entertaining than people! Often, more entertaining than TV. You made me smile with your line “it gets a little crazy as to who sleeps where”–oh, isn’t that the truth!
It sounds like you’re living the most wonderful new life–I’m so happy for you and Jean and your doggies. Love to all of you. ❤
Sparrow, a wonderful story of your “3 Boys”. Love the title, also. Bradley likes to sleep with Debbie and I, on top of Debbie’s 2 homemade quilts. But, every night, count on it, Bradley feels “the enemy has invaded”, and he lashes out his “razor sharp” paws, towards my feet, that is why we added the 2nd quilts, Hal’s “Body armour”. He times these “preventative” attacks, at exactly 4a.m. But, after about 5 or 10 minutes, Bradley feels he has “stopped the enemy, aka Hal’s feet, and he continues his nightly rest. I smiled throughout this current piece, But I do not smile too much at 4am. Finishing up, he is a “wonderful Cat/Friend, he even “puts up” with Bruno. Bruno, celebrated his 14th Birthday, New Year’s Day. Bruno just keeps “rolling along.”. Again, I loved this piece today, I feel 2020 will be a “banner year” for “Poetic Blessings”, and specifically, You, Spparow…….”Keep on Blogging”. ❤️TexGen FF
TexGen–thank you for noticing the title–I think you’re the only one who did. 😀 I love your description of Bradley attacking your feet at 4 a.m. We have two quilts on the bed, too, for the same reason, but I never thought of them as armor–that’s exactly what they are! I’m so happy that you and Debbie found Bradley; he’s obviously very happy in his new home. Tell Bruno happy birthday from me!
Thank you so much for your words, as always, and especially for what you said about 2020 being a banner year. I’m going to hold that thought close in my heart. Love to you. ❤
Such cute kitty boys!!! ♥️
Thank you! I think so, too. ❤