It's National Poetry Month! There are many, many wonderful animal poems. I was rifling through a collection of cat poems in a small book aptly titled The Great Cat- poems about cats - and happened upon Naomi Shihab Nye's poem --
Every Cat Had a Story
The yellow one from the bakery
smelled like a cream puff-
she followed us home.
We buried our faces
in her sweet fur.
One cat hid her head
while I practiced violin.
But she came out for piano.
At night she played sonatas
on my quilt.
One cat built a secret nest
in my socks.
One sat in the window
staring up at the street all day
while we were at school.
One cat loved the radio dial.
One cat almost smiled.
The poem conjured up memories of every cat I've been lucky enough to live with. Sidney, my college campus black kitten. Artie, the tiny long haired guy who made Sid look like a lion. Alvie, the scarred bruiser who went from sewer-pipe cat to best bed buddy-- ever. SamMelvin, the big orange tabby...the cat of my dreams. Dave, a boarder at the shelter until his elderly person died, my daughter's first true love. Bruce, the cat foster cat who picked me.
And now, Charlotte -- the queen of the camera phone.
