Cherry Blossom

A poem about cats and the world.

Cherry Blossom

 

 

 

A ginger cat runs down a dusty alleyway

 in the huge city of Constantinople.

The green eyes of the cat sparkle

in a dense cloud of smoke that

hangs in the air from a

shisha pipe being

Smoked outside

a small café.

 

 

A black and white cat plays with a dead mouse in a crack den in North Philadelphia. The cat spots an injured bird in the snow-covered back yard; he drops the mouse and runs to his victim. The dead mouse lies next to a dead woman. The young woman is bony, dirty and has a syringe sticking out her left arm. Two dead souls sleep in Philadelphia one winter’s morning.

 

 

A plump black cat sits on a cold garden wall in the

 Misty suburbs of Tokyo. She gazes at the

 human race all day with a motionless

expression. She then slowly licks

her paws and then falls to

sleep. The aroma of

cherry blossom

engulfs the

area.

 

 ©LukeRitta

 

Reviews

Very unique form/structure ^_^ I like.
it's almost like shape-poetry, with the shape being a downwards arrow.

My guess is that this poem's intention is to be thought-provoking by relating the unhealthy behaviors and flaws of humanity to that of a cat's routine lifestyle and characteristics.
The one which I think this perspective mostly is connected to is the second stanza which deals with a cocaine addicted freebaser (though "crack" is usually smoked, unless you use something like lemon juice to dissolve it)... the train of thought being the cats killing smaller animals is symbolism for the woman being killed by her health-deficiency addiction to narcotics.
IF I were to read into the first stanza though, being that green is the color of health and a shisha pipe being smoked, my guess is that it's about the health risks of smoking. As for the last stanza, my guess would be it's about laziness.

Like as stated in the beginning of this review, I adore the structure. I don't know if it was intended to be shape-poetry, but it is an odd coincidence if it wasn't. I also would like to praise it for it's seemingly great ability to correlate two different species of animals together in their behaviors, it was a pretty cool idea. Also, the cultural like references to different parts of the world, such as shisha (exotic tobacco product) being smoked at a cafe...
Probably the only constructive critique I can offer is just pay attention in the details you write.. such as shisha smoked outta a pipe, technically shisha is smoked outta hookahs or water-based replacements to pipes (bongs).

overall: an appropriate score for this I think would be a 96/100... enjoyed it alot, and thnx for the RR mate. Keep up the good work ^_^

[Liana]

Loved this Luke. Cats in themselves are very soulful, intuitive and curious, so it made the 'human condition' you describe so visually, seem even more destructive and desolate against the life of the cat.
:)

[Divinity Sleeps in This]

Yes it has a divine structure and very gritty. I'm sorta proud that cats are the stars of the piece.

[Nona]

aaahhhhhh! its amazing!

[Reeti]

This is the first time i have come across a pattern poetry here in writerscafe, and i am fain to have read this. It's really amusing for me to find cats being written about with their usual imperatives (i am a feline-lover)... though the second stanza is quite frightening. Has the 'cherry blossom' been introduced in the end as it alludes to something? (say, for its sweet appealing fragrance to placate solely the cats)

[Adora.xo]

Well this was, not to be redundant, very thought provoking. It reminds me of how a few days ago, while I was having pasta with chicken breast, a family of four died in a tragic car accident on the other side of the country. I don't know if it makes sense why that and the poem fit to me, but in an odd way they do. Good job, again :P

~Adora
xo

[Nobody.]

:) A sweet-smelling world through feline eyes.

This just screams LIFE.

Okay, I'm gonna stop reading for a bit, but, I love your stuff.
Very cool.
Write on! Write on!

Cheers!

[Yuan]

There was a nicely written review here, about this poem, yet due to fate and man-made troublesome technology aka net connection on writers-cafe, it is lost, and to reword what was lost would not have its original charm. Just know that it was good, and a simple I like this poem a lot shall suffice, for the sanity of both minds. lol.

[Scandalous]

I love the style you wrote this is, but I'm not particularly sure what this is about, but it was still so beautiful. Keep up the great work.

~ Scandalous

[Meghan]

I loved the style you used, of creating three different scenes for the poem. Great use of imagery. This was great!