The Stray Cat Poem by Rodolfo Martin Vitangcol

THIS STORY HAPPENED WHEN I WAS A LAD
about a stray cat there in our backyard.
Oft hanging out there, she's as if our cat;
in fairness, though, she's cute and kinda fat.

OH, DON'T FEED HER, SHE CAN LIVE ON HER OWN.
How?She's good at catching birds on the lawn.
Till birds do come around, she'll never die;
there in her paws her securities lie.

ONE DAY MY MOM TOOK NOTICE OF THIS CAT
and thought of treating her like a spoiled brat.
Day in day out, excess food to cat went;
gotten so used, hunting birds she forwent.

BUT THEN, ONE FATEFUL DAY SOMETHING HAPPENED.
It told of what's correct, what's mistaken.
It proved nothing could permanently glow:
"What's boon today may be bane tomorrow! "

WHAT HAPPENED?WELL, MY MOM HAD HIRED A MAID;
the things the maid should do, my mom all laid.
But there's one my mom forgot to tell her:
"Leftovers must go to the cat out there."

AND SO ALL LEFTOVERS WENT TO TRASH CAN;
the cat waited but none to bowl did land.
For four days straight that she had no rations,
she could hardly stand up, all skin and bones.

THINKING OF IT—SO WHAT IF SHE'S NOT FED?
She could simply go back to hunting bird.
Sadly, the urge was not there anymore,
and she's no more as skillful as before.

THE NEXT DAY WHEN MOM CHANCED UPON THE CAT,
how shocked was she that the cat looked all that.
She raced to the kitchen, no time wasted;
but it's rather too late, the cat was dead.

TRULY, MY MOM SIMPLY CARED FOR THE CAT,
except that her kind of caring fell flat.
The once great hunter, living on her own,
now dependent on grace of one person.

I GUESS SAME THING HOLDS TRUE WITH OUR CHILDREN.
Just feed and feed, make them always depend.
Do it as if it's an endless heaven,
so that when we leave, they'll too meet their end!

Amen!

Copyright © 2018
Rodolfo Martin Vitangcol
All Rights Reserved