The Cat's Sardine Poem by Mary Naylor

The cat broods and waits.
Brooding cat does not forget.
It watches, then, springs! (Haiku)


It was HER sardine!
The human had PROMISED her.
So fragrant, it could be smelled before it was seen.
She licked her lips and fluffed her fur.

Then, suddenly, HE came in.
HE, known as the Bottomless Pit.
Slamming the door, making a din.
Hi Mom! I’m starved! Hi, Kit.

Scooping up the can of sardines,
He emptied it into his mouth.
Kit howled as if she were pursued by fiends,
But every last sardine was gone, without a doubt!

Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t know
The sardines were for the cat.
To Kit it was a heavy blow.
She stumped to the toilet lid, her place of refuge, and sat.

She told the world what she felt, head bowed,
And she didn’t mince her cat meows!
A gleam came to her eyes. She refused to be cowed.
She gave one last yowl.

Then, she gathered herself and stood tall,
And she set out to hunt down Bottomless Pit.
She found him in the hall.
One mighty fling and on his back she lit!

MA! MA! GET KIT OFF MY BACK!
Ma came running, trying to reach the cat.
But she clung to his back like a potato sack!
Then, Kit sprang out the window, while Bottomless moaned, Oh, drat!

She climbed up the apple tree,
And gave a rosy cheeked fruit a slash.
She licked the juice that seeped from the peel,
She curled into a ball, and her tail only occasionally lashed.