Poem: "Filled with Strange Sounds"

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today's freebie was inspired by new prompter batiferrite. It also fills the "charcoal" square in my 7-1-23 card for the Fireworks Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics. Shane first appears in the poems "A Heartbeat at My Feet" and "Basking in the Light."


"Filled with Strange Sounds"
-- a sestina


It's night and the sky is filled with charcoal.
Shane makes his way home, two blocks to go.
A heat lamp waits for him when he gets back.
The air is cooling, and wisps of fog stray
over the street. One bit looks like a cat,
he thinks, and then he hears the meow.

The dark is filled with strange sounds, but meow
can only mean one thing. A coat of charcoal
soon solidifies into a small, shivering cat
who clearly has nowhere else to go.
Quietly Shane approaches the stray.
The cat hisses, frantically licks his back.

Shane waits for the fur to flatten on his back.
The cat looks up at him with a plaintive meow.
Shane knows what it's like to be a stray,
even if he's green instead of charcoal.
It always sucks, having nowhere to go,
whether you're a lizard or a cat.

Mincing along the top of a fence, the cat
glares at him with green eyes, ready to back
away from a threat. Shane isn't about to go
anywhere without him. Another meow,
softer now, smudged like charcoal.
Perhaps the fear is starting to stray.

Shane wishes he had tuna for the stray,
but all he has is determination to catch the cat.
The sidewalk is chalk, the buildings charcoal.
The cat sniffs his fingers and straightens its back.
Shane hears a question in the next meow.
"Yeah, I've got a place," he says. "Let's go."

It's a place for folks with nowhere to go,
and they're happy to welcome another stray.
The cat approves Shane's room with a soft meow,
houseplants soon hiding the small gray cat.
Soon he curls under a heat lamp, his back
turning into a furry donut of charcoal.

Shane knows to go from man to lizard, his cat --
no longer stray -- on his chest, and his back
pressed to the bed. Meow, a love note in charcoal.

* * *

Notes:

"It’s night and the dark is filled with strange sounds as Shane makes his way home. On a fence he finds a stray cat that at first growls and spits at him."
-- Bookroo

Read about sestinas.

"A Heartbeat at My Feet" 10-9-15
Summary: Kayla gets called out to talk down a man ready to jump.
Characters: Kayla McIntosh, Amber Shany Avery
Guest stars: Chief Paul Bosonetto, Calvon Keneday
Cameo appearance: Ella Medrano, Gregory Short, Christine Sinclair, Sherry
Prompted by DW user zeeth_kyrah
Sponsored by DW user technoshaman
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10408431.html

"Basking in the Light" 2-20-16
Follows "A Heartbeat at My Feet"
Summary: Shane finds some accommodations to make life a little easier as a lizardman.
Characters: Shane
Guest stars: Zoe Loftus, Marley Dominguez
Prompted by DW users Curiosity and Shiori_makiba and Wellness Toolbox Bingo 5-20-15

Stray cats used to be pets, and may become pets again if they find a new human. Feral cats have had little or no close contact with humans, and tend to avoid them. Learn how to care for a stray cat in your home.

Both stray and feral cats can benefit from support outdoors too. Cat houses and feeding stations make them more comfortable.

Embarrassed or nervous cats often lick themselves, a habit called composure grooming.

Comments

[greghousesgf]

Cats also often lick themselves when they're feeling indecisive.
I heard about sestinas from a guy talking about them on TV but I think that's the first one I ever read. Thank you.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Cats also often lick themselves when they're feeling indecisive.<<

That's true.

>>I heard about sestinas from a guy talking about them on TV but I think that's the first one I ever read. Thank you.<<

It's one of my favorite forms. :D You can prompt for it any time; forms are always welcome as prompts.