April 26, 2019

When we speak of cat poems we do not of course mean poems written by felines.  Rather, books like:

Cats are Cats: Poems (1988), blurbed as 'A collection of thirty-six poems about all kinds of cats, from old grumbling cats to proud cats who sit tall, by poets including Eve Merriam, Jane Yolen, John Ciardi, and T. S. Eliot.'

or

Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse
(Henry Beard, 1994) 'A parody featuring poetry by the feline companions of great poets includes "Do Not Go Gentle to That Damned Vet," "Leaves of Catnip," and other selections.'

One such title stands out though, for the effort to see things from a fluffy perspective:

I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats (Francesco Marciuliano, 2012 ). 'With titles like "Who Is That on Your Lap?," "This Is My Chair," "Kneel Before Me," "Nudge," and "Some of My Best Friends Are Dogs," the poems collected in I Could Pee on This perfectly capture the inner workings of the cat psyche.'




This small volume is charming and a good choice today, since April is National Poetry Month.