by Doug Westberg
Member since:
January 4, 2007

The Reckoning: Wednesday Gather Writing Essential WWE

January 18, 2012 02:42 PM UTC
views: 0 | 10 people recommend this | comments: 21


The Reckoning

The plastic sack

 

tantalizes on the sofa,

its open mouth

the entrance to a

shimmering white cave.

 

It shines

like a mermaid

on a rocky spit,

calling to me.

 

I touch it with my paw.

It speaks to me

in a crackling language

only cats can understand.

 

I poke my head in.

The handle wraps around my neck.

I pull back, but the sack

comes with me.

 

I tear around the room

like a shot.  The sack

flaps behind my ear

like the wings of a falcon.

The faster I run, the louder it gets.

I zigzag furiously,

but I cannot shake it.

Its talons will sink into my flesh any second.

 

This has been going on

for years.  My weight is down

to one and a half pounds.

 

Suddenly my master

tackles me and extricates

my neck from the noose,

petting me and cooing.

 

It's been three months now

since the last time I

(as they say in the program)

crawled into a bottle.

 

They tell me I will be a cat

for the rest of my life.



 



© 2000, 2011 Douglas J. Westberg. All Rights Reserved.  Please share this on Gather.com, and elsewhere on the web by means of a link back to this page, but please do not copy.  From the forthcoming volume The Caterpillar.  Doug's latest book is The Depressed Guy's Book of Wisdom from Chipmunka Publishing



Comments: 21

Kasey Klein Jan 18, 2012, 2:51pm UTC
thanks for sharing
Pam Brittain Jan 18, 2012, 2:54pm UTC
Cats are cool.
Alice G. Jan 18, 2012, 4:21pm UTC
Very funny. Pam is right cats are cool but there is enough rejection in my life so I will take my dog who loves me unconditionally. My long time friend, some times called "cat lady' for her many adoptions, told me that dogs have owners but cats have staff.
Irina Dimitric Jan 18, 2012, 4:52pm UTC
Our cat must have been an exception, he was affectionate like a dog. But I do prefer dogs.
Irina Dimitric Jan 18, 2012, 4:54pm UTC
Nice poem, Doug. I'm glad you were there to rescue your inqusitive cat.
JOHN BECK Jan 18, 2012, 7:33pm UTC
So am I.
Kimberly Blackadar Jan 18, 2012, 8:45pm UTC
Doug, I like writing from an animal's perspective, and you told the tale exceptionally well. I especially like this metaphor for the bag:

its open mouth

the entrance to a

shimmering white cave.

Since I have two kittens, I have witnessed a similar feat in my household.

Thank you for your response to the WWE prompt.
Tracy Fabre Jan 18, 2012, 10:29pm UTC
Oh, how I laffed at:

This has been going on
for years. My weight is down
to one and a half pounds.
Doug Westberg Jan 18, 2012, 10:49pm UTC
Hee hee. I love it too. The coup de grace IMHO.
J. Reid Jan 19, 2012, 7:59am UTC
What a sweet rendering to a prompt! Smiles...

Thank you for submitting to: Not Gathering Dust!
stephen berwaldt Jan 19, 2012, 8:06am UTC
I commented last night, but Gather swallowed it whole...
Nice write...I'm convinced if you want to be noticed...write stuff about cats...people LOVE cats...I don't get it really, but your piece here will please many who do...

Thank you submitting to the Gather’s Best Writers and Artists.
Doug Westberg Jan 19, 2012, 1:20pm UTC
I never feature my own work at Surreal Circus, but I don't think anybody will object this time...
Ann Marcaida Jan 19, 2012, 1:28pm UTC
I've been known to feature my own work. You're such a natural surrealist that I think you'll love this story if you haven't read it already:

Axolotl by Julio Cortazar
Doug Westberg Jan 19, 2012, 2:21pm UTC
Thanks!
William Dotani Jan 20, 2012, 3:53am UTC
Realization from experience, eh. Lovely verse.
Shana D. Jan 21, 2012, 6:42pm UTC
Ha I loved it. You would think that they would learn, but it is obvious their curiousity just won't let them. Great poem.
Jackie Vadney Jan 26, 2012, 2:51am UTC
Aha,ha,ha..totally funny, but I'll bet the cat doesn't think so ;-)
Connie C. Apr 5, 2012, 5:43pm UTC
Doug,

I am just stopping by to let you know that this post is spotlighted in the What Is Happening Today On Gather ~ Thursday April 05, 2012 post.

Congratulations!

I do hope you will have time to check out the other spotlighted posts as well.

Have a wonderful Spring day!
Jennine D. Apr 15, 2012, 4:39pm UTC
ROFLOL this is a great story about the cat and sack loved it. I have four cats, they are awesome and great fun and I could totally picture this in my mind.
Sheila Deeth Apr 16, 2012, 7:43pm UTC
I love it!

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