NIGHT TIME ROUTINE - by Shadow
Very slowly
My nose emerges
From my papery bed.
Is my mistress
Eating?
Twitching whiskers,
Shining ruby eyes
Watch every movement.
Nothing yet.
I return to my empty seed-stick.
Perhaps she'll notice!
Cat-like, I wash myself
With my tiny paws.
The television
Is switched off.
My searching becomes
Frantic!
Two yoghurt drops;
A teaspoon of food mix;
Full pouches!
The door opens -
I grasp the proffered peanut
And take it to my wheel
(My current store)
For later attention.
Any more?
But now it is play time.
My tiny, silver-furred paws
Reach and I climb
The bars of my cage
Till my weight becomes
Too much to bear
And I let go.
Can I escape?
No.
WHEN will my mistress
Turn out the light
And leave me to enjoy
My crepuscular activities.
At last
"Goodnight, Shadow"
Light out.
Peanut retrieved
And cracked,
And I enjoy
My hamstery fun!
~~~~~
Very slowly
My nose emerges
From my papery bed.
Is my mistress
Eating?
Twitching whiskers,
Shining ruby eyes
Watch every movement.
Nothing yet.
I return to my empty seed-stick.
Perhaps she'll notice!
Cat-like, I wash myself
With my tiny paws.
The television
Is switched off.
My searching becomes
Frantic!
Two yoghurt drops;
A teaspoon of food mix;
Full pouches!
The door opens -
I grasp the proffered peanut
And take it to my wheel
(My current store)
For later attention.
Any more?
But now it is play time.
My tiny, silver-furred paws
Reach and I climb
The bars of my cage
Till my weight becomes
Too much to bear
And I let go.
Can I escape?
No.
WHEN will my mistress
Turn out the light
And leave me to enjoy
My crepuscular activities.
At last
"Goodnight, Shadow"
Light out.
Peanut retrieved
And cracked,
And I enjoy
My hamstery fun!
~~~~~
Shadow!
'crepuscular' - active at dawn and dusk."
CONFUSED!
I am confused!
7am came – and went –
No sign of my mistress!
8.15am she comes down
In funny clothes.
She eats her breakfast
And does her reading.
By then I’ve given up
And gone to bed!
She rattles my cage
And I emerge sulkily
There are pieces of plum and banana
This morning,
As well as the cornflake,
Raisin and lettuce.
Bed.
Time comes to get up –
She’s out
At a meeting!
9.15 she comes in,
Switches on her laptop
And types up a poem
Which she wrote during the sermon.
Then she ‘does the websites’ –
Deppa, WoM, Netdoc
And, of course,
PoetryShared.
That takes her ages!
She hasn’t put the TV on,
So I can’t have the cue
Of it being switched off!
At last she eats,
And I have a piece of chicken
As well as my usual – LATE!
A couple of times a year
It’s even worse.
In the spring she’s early,
In the autumn she’s even later.
She calls that
‘Changing the clocks!’
What on earth is a clock?
Why does it need changing?
How am I to know
She calls every seventh day
Sunday?
~~~~~
BADGER FEAST!
Dusk falls.
We hear the rattle of a dish
And the gentle voice of ‘C’.
She has been feeding us
And our forebears
For many years now,
And we feel safe.
‘Miss Piggy’ emerges –
Whiskers twitching,
Nose scenting the air
For danger.
She’s brave!
She tucks in
To the food provided
Near the gap in the hedge.
She calls.
We older ones
Amble out
Slowly.
The youngsters
Frolic –
Chasing tails!
We all take some food –
Most of us take it out of sight.
The braver ones stay by the hedge.
Then a human
Walks up the narrow path
From the station.
We hide
Till the danger is past,
Then re-emerge
And noisily chomp
On the food provided.
Sometimes a fox prowls by
On his way to his feeding place.
He’s ‘safe’.
Sometimes people come from next door
And group by the telegraph pole.
We can scent them.
At times a tall man stands
On the other side,
Listening for the owls,
Identifying the trees.
He loves nature –
He’s ‘safe’ too.
Occasionally a woman comes,
Hands outstretched –
“Back, not too close –
Remember, they’re WILD.”
She wordlessly signals
With fingers to lips –
“Ssh”
One finger, two, three.
She’s counting us
Silently!
Darkness deepens
Till only our black and white stripes
Can be seen.
The humans depart.
We continue
Till the last scrap is cleared
Then, with our thanks to ‘C’
We return
To our nightly foraging,
But we’ll be back
When dusk falls again!
~~~~~
ANGELS (original version)
Angels with whiskers and angels with tails;
Angels that touch us when trouble assails;
Angels with fur on and hearts full of love
Bring us real comfort - a true solace prove.
Angels sent to us at our point of need;
Angels that bring us warm feelings indeed;
Angels that do not reject us in pain;
Angels that help us to smile once again.
Some call them “rats”, but they mean so much more -
Not “second-class” - for from their treasure-store
They bring their love, and with playfulness share,
Lifting our sorrow and easing our care.
Angels with whiskers and angels with tails
Sent by our Father, Whose love never fails.
They are my angels - though others despise -
Angels with fur on, and love in their eyes.
~~~~~
ANGELS (amended for pet service)
Angels with whiskers and angels with tails;
Angels that touch us when trouble assails;
Angels with fur on and hearts full of love
Bring us real comfort - a true solace prove.
Angels sent to us at our point of need;
Angels that bring us warm feelings indeed;
Angels that do not reject us in pain;
Angels that help us to smile once again.
Angels with feathers or leathery skin
Can give us strength a new day to begin.
Angels with fins, swimming lazily, too
Help us relax, and our courage renew.
Some call them “pets”, but they mean so much more -
Not “second-class” - for from their treasure-store
They bring their love, and with playfulness share,
Lifting our sorrow and easing our care.
Angels with feathers, fins angels with sacs
Sent by our Father,
Whose love never fails.
They are my angels - though others despise -
Angels with fur on, and love in their eyes.
I am confused!
7am came – and went –
No sign of my mistress!
8.15am she comes down
In funny clothes.
She eats her breakfast
And does her reading.
By then I’ve given up
And gone to bed!
She rattles my cage
And I emerge sulkily
There are pieces of plum and banana
This morning,
As well as the cornflake,
Raisin and lettuce.
Bed.
Time comes to get up –
She’s out
At a meeting!
9.15 she comes in,
Switches on her laptop
And types up a poem
Which she wrote during the sermon.
Then she ‘does the websites’ –
Deppa, WoM, Netdoc
And, of course,
PoetryShared.
That takes her ages!
She hasn’t put the TV on,
So I can’t have the cue
Of it being switched off!
At last she eats,
And I have a piece of chicken
As well as my usual – LATE!
A couple of times a year
It’s even worse.
In the spring she’s early,
In the autumn she’s even later.
She calls that
‘Changing the clocks!’
What on earth is a clock?
Why does it need changing?
How am I to know
She calls every seventh day
Sunday?
~~~~~
BADGER FEAST!
Dusk falls.
We hear the rattle of a dish
And the gentle voice of ‘C’.
She has been feeding us
And our forebears
For many years now,
And we feel safe.
‘Miss Piggy’ emerges –
Whiskers twitching,
Nose scenting the air
For danger.
She’s brave!
She tucks in
To the food provided
Near the gap in the hedge.
She calls.
We older ones
Amble out
Slowly.
The youngsters
Frolic –
Chasing tails!
We all take some food –
Most of us take it out of sight.
The braver ones stay by the hedge.
Then a human
Walks up the narrow path
From the station.
We hide
Till the danger is past,
Then re-emerge
And noisily chomp
On the food provided.
Sometimes a fox prowls by
On his way to his feeding place.
He’s ‘safe’.
Sometimes people come from next door
And group by the telegraph pole.
We can scent them.
At times a tall man stands
On the other side,
Listening for the owls,
Identifying the trees.
He loves nature –
He’s ‘safe’ too.
Occasionally a woman comes,
Hands outstretched –
“Back, not too close –
Remember, they’re WILD.”
She wordlessly signals
With fingers to lips –
“Ssh”
One finger, two, three.
She’s counting us
Silently!
Darkness deepens
Till only our black and white stripes
Can be seen.
The humans depart.
We continue
Till the last scrap is cleared
Then, with our thanks to ‘C’
We return
To our nightly foraging,
But we’ll be back
When dusk falls again!
~~~~~
ANGELS (original version)
Angels with whiskers and angels with tails;
Angels that touch us when trouble assails;
Angels with fur on and hearts full of love
Bring us real comfort - a true solace prove.
Angels sent to us at our point of need;
Angels that bring us warm feelings indeed;
Angels that do not reject us in pain;
Angels that help us to smile once again.
Some call them “rats”, but they mean so much more -
Not “second-class” - for from their treasure-store
They bring their love, and with playfulness share,
Lifting our sorrow and easing our care.
Angels with whiskers and angels with tails
Sent by our Father, Whose love never fails.
They are my angels - though others despise -
Angels with fur on, and love in their eyes.
~~~~~
ANGELS (amended for pet service)
Angels with whiskers and angels with tails;
Angels that touch us when trouble assails;
Angels with fur on and hearts full of love
Bring us real comfort - a true solace prove.
Angels sent to us at our point of need;
Angels that bring us warm feelings indeed;
Angels that do not reject us in pain;
Angels that help us to smile once again.
Angels with feathers or leathery skin
Can give us strength a new day to begin.
Angels with fins, swimming lazily, too
Help us relax, and our courage renew.
Some call them “pets”, but they mean so much more -
Not “second-class” - for from their treasure-store
They bring their love, and with playfulness share,
Lifting our sorrow and easing our care.
Angels with feathers, fins angels with sacs
Sent by our Father,
Whose love never fails.
They are my angels - though others despise -
Angels with fur on, and love in their eyes.