So today I was sitting on my bed,
and my cat comes up to me and sits on my head.
Can you believe that, right on my head.
And then he starts purring my ears to shreds.
I'm just sitting there, minding my own business,
and he decides to become my hairnet.
What really gets me is that it seemed so phony.
Cats seem intelligent, and usually so stony.
They know better than to be near us,
they want their food but then they bus.
Blake though--that's my cat's name, Blake--
he tries to chat for Chrissake.
You would think he would know better,
usually his only action is chewing my sweater,
but today he decides to interact.
I know he didn't want to--that's a fact.
I mean, why would a cat want to talk.
Usually he doesn't even want to walk.
I guess people are influencing him,
which really stinks of them.
You get it right, cats don't just chat.
There must be more than that.
I think he felt like he had to, you know.
Because otherwise he wouldn't show
affection at all, and that gets me down.
It's like just because I frown,
Blake thinks he has to be friendly.
Like if he didn't it would offend me.
I just don't know man, he's like
that kid I knew as a kid, Mike.
Mike'd always do whatever he thought
he was supposed to do, what he ought.
That always depresses me.
Why couldn't he just climb a tree.
I hate it when cat's try to act good.
Why should they act like they should.
That depresses the hell out of me.
Why couldn't Blake just act free?
I can't believe the phonies got to him too.
It seems like they got through
to everyone but me and you.
Anyway, what can you do?
So that was my interpretation of what Holden would write if he had to write a poem about a cat or something. I don't know. I just thought I would challenge myself a little bit, and I enjoy trying to capture Holden's voice. It was a ton harder to do that through poetry than an essay though, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, or how good a poem it is for that matter. I think I compromised a little in both directions. Yeah.... Bye.
This is great! You really delved deep into Holden's true character through his distinctive and laid-back narrative voice and wrote a sick poem about cats at the same time. Even though Holden would have a lot about cats, I think he would have even more to say about people that write poems about cats. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteTim, this is amazing! Right from the beginning I felt that Holden had written this. "Blake though--that's my cat's name, Blake" and "That always depresses me" just screamed Holden at me! It was also pretty cool that you made it rhyme. The way that you incorporated the phoniness and kept it up throughout the entire poem is actually really impressive and really displays Holden's characteristics. Please consider writing more!
ReplyDeleteThis is super creative, and I'm definitely getting a "Holden vibe" from your writing! You were able to bring out aspects of the character pretty well, like the fact that he's very perceptive and straightforward in his way of describing the things around him. It was also nice to see how you incorporated some of his sayings, like Chrissake. This is a really delightful poem!
ReplyDeleteI loved this so much! I'm actually laughing really hard. I feel like this captures Holden's tone so well. I really enjoyed reading this! So many of the phrases you used within the poem are so Holden, it's great!
ReplyDeleteThis poem was executed soo nicely! I like your use of italics and Holden-esque phrases. And the portrayal of the cat trying to compromise his catness is much like Holden's issue with children becoming adults. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but anyway really thoughtful and creative poem.
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