Thursday, April 05, 2012

YOU'RE MAKING A HUGE ASSUMPTION - a cat poem, a pet poem, a clerihew



YOU'RE MAKING A BIG ASSUMPTION

Willie Morris 
is a catasaurus,
yet his voice is a dainty "mew."
Don't let that fool you.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012




Our cat (known variously as Willie Morris, William, Will, and Bubba) is a gentle giant...most of the time (see first picture). He has enough LION in him, though, that he chased this visiting lab down the hall and then co-opted her den and blankie (second picture). Notice that Ruby is not even allowed to look at Will, let alone have her den back until Will decides it's time...


This poetry form is a clerihew. Wikipedia defines the form thus:

"A clerihew has the following properties:
  • It is biographical and usually whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; it pokes fun at mostly famous people
  • It has four lines of irregular length and metre (for comic effect)
  • The rhyme structure is AABB; the subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order to achieve a rhyme, including the use of phrases in Latin, French and other non-English Languages
  • The first line contains, and may consist solely of, the subject's name."


Poem #5, National Poetry Month, 2012

Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku)...and YOU?

4 comments:

  1. I've had cats in my life that ruled their worlds, & clearly Willie Morris is one. I love that "dainty 'mew'" Mary Lee. The photos are just right!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I love love love this! How you captured such an imposing personality in a few whimsical words. The pictures are priceless - especially the body language of that poor, big lab!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Poor Ruby, the expression you captured in her profile says {sigh}. Love the poem, thanks for introducing me to a new format!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Mary Lee! I loved your catilicious clerihew. I am also doing a poem a day this month. I am challenging myself with a different form each day. I started with clerihew! Thanks for sharing. Thanks also for the list of book suggestions in yesterday's post. My bag is bulging; I can't wait for Spring break!

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is turned on.