Friday, 4 October 2019

The Black Cat

We paint in black and white
Sure strokes that douse the page
The black cat scampers through our fingers
Leaves a tail print in our scrawls
We keep going until the page is full
A dizzying splatter of thought and time
It absorbs us
We get lost
Busy making inky patterns
Shapes which morph when we shake them
It's a bit like a map she squeals
If we look closely enough we will learn the key
Find our way out
Or in
She complains that I don't use colour
Not even blue
These lines need to be permanent I say
To last though rain storms
And windy nights
They will hang on our walls
Banners and tails
Signs and symbols we once followed
Until we found our way
Used our instinct not our eyes
The paint goes dry as the sun falls
We huddle up in bed
Fit for dreaming
Ready for sleep
The black cat scratches in the dark
Perhaps it is heading for the mirror
That's where all good adventures start.


10 comments:

  1. I don't recall you wriing about cats before Jae so this poem was quite an adventure for me as well!

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  2. What I especially love about your interpretation is how you include the process of creating art within the description. Very well done.

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  3. You incorporated the imagery of the painting prompt with your style so beautifully. I love how you saw it as an invitation to adventure.

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  4. I love the signs and symbols, the way you head to the mirror where all good adventures begin . One of your best.

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  5. I agree with Toni. One of your best. I love the cat, the description of art - love the poem!

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  6. This is deeply poignant! Especially like; "We keep going until the page is full/A dizzying splatter of thought and time."❤️

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  7. So much insight, wisdom in your words ... (heading to my mirror now.)

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  8. I'm glad someone besides me saw a cat.....smiles......This is one of your best poems, kiddo.

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  9. I love your poem about creativity, Jae, those ‘Sure strokes that douse the page’ and the ‘dizzying splatter of thought and time’. It’s an activity to lose yourself in while ‘making inky patterns / Shapes which morph when we shake them’. I like the addition of the black cat, a third character in the Alice story – through the looking glass, no less!

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  10. I love how you went behind the painting and met the painter... the process in the lack of color becomes the most important part.

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