Finals

Silence - Oh! That blessed state,

where nervous rank and file await -

in blinkered head down concentration

and soon to come deliberation,

where not the slightest scratch of pen

disturbs the meditative Zen.

But then, if briefly, swings the door,

a pace outside, then one pace more;

and from within, so lightly heard,

rustled paper, a soft spoke word.

The cat is missing, the mice will dance

when 'ere the moment falls to chance

Quando il gatto manca, i topi ballano

(when the cat is missing, the mice dance)

A friend of mine challenged me to write a poem about this Italian proverb and a brief moment of respite from long ago sprang instantly to mind. 

Reviews

[Kesch (Finding Julia)]

The cat is missing, the mice will dance
when 'ere the moment falls to chance

I SO LOVED every inch of this write, but i good a good chuckle out of this part. This is wonderful

[Robert Trakofler]

okay first i was thinking it was me taking a test the horrors all flooded back:) and after the second stanza yes it was about horror a mouses horror of a cat:) At my restaurant I had a mouse this fall it drove me crazy it was a ninja mouse...I tried every gadget they make and he outsmarted all of them! finally I gave in and took my cat to the store mouse gone within two days cat didnt catch him he just booked but not one week after i took the cat out of my house but another appeared in my kitchen!!!!!!!!!!! clever write Beccy

[Sami Khalil]

You rose up to the challenge and won the day. The message is true and it goes deeper than we think. It speaks of fear gone, then we get a relief. It speaks of authority broken, then we get chaos running around. It speaks of predators gone, then we get peace and quiet. So many ways we can take it and you have done a wonderful job Beccy.

[Neville]

This is so darn good and clever too, I plan on treating myself to a bowl of Gallone's ice-cream with a Cadburys flake just because I can, and the cat's away...... Bravo Beccy........ N:)

[Beccy]

Gallone's, yum. Charlie and I almost always stop off at their new ice cream parlour at Weston Favell centre after shopping.

So tasty.

Beccy

[barleygirl]

This is full of relatable details, yet expressed in a subtly whimsical way. This is the poster child for fresh original writing pulling together a few abstract images to paint a fulsome tapestry of ideas! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[kentuck14]

Very nicely made! A wonderful meditation.
T

[emmajoy]

What a wonderful and finely metered poem, Beccy!!! Plus, you've plumped up your response with some great phrasing, ' .. deliberation, - where not the slightest scratch of pen - disturbs the meditative Zen. ' Moving on to, ' .. so lightly heard, rustling.. .. '

Brava" You certainly won the challenge!

[Gee]

Will show this to my daughter who is sitting "A" levels from the 17th of this month.
What to say apart from this the usual high class fayre.
Hope you and the young fella are well Beccy

[roarke]

this is an enjoyable poem. Combining these two situations, strangely intriguing. Americanized, when the cats away, the mice will play....and then comes the Tom and Jerry cartoons.... ah well.