A Tabby Named Catsby

A warning to all to stop chasing an illusion.

Catsby chases the laser.

He frantically scratches at the wall

A streak of blue peeks beneath a coat of white.

He jumps on the counter

Ceramics and glasses meet their sudden deaths.

He bites at the tiled blacksplash

The once perfect herringbone pattern chips and crumbles.

He reaches and reaches and reaches out too far

A petrified purr follows a silent fall.

Good thing cats have nine lives

As they can waste eight chasing a glorified speck of light that doesn't exist.

Author's Note

Please comment and let me know what you think.

Reviews

[Mrudula Rani]

".......stop chasing an illusion." Is the look my family gives me, every time I suggest buying a loto ticket.
Not all cats are alike. My Prince Charming ( a 12 year old rescue) would never chase a laser dot and if I encourage him to do so ...gives me ' Are you crazy ?' Look.
Your poems are absolutely unique. Beautiful. Thought provoking, sort of educational too!

[emptyinkwell]

Thanks for the review! Haha, yeah I guess I stereotyped cats a bit here. I just thought it'd be a fun way to get people to realize that we do this too.

[Kate Z.]

I could see my kitten in this. She sits on my desk as I write and falls asleep sitting up. Her quiet moment. It won't last long. Good job.

[emptyinkwell]

Thanks for the read and review! Kittens are adorable, and though they can do no wrong, they are - in many ways - flawed.

[csquires]

As an owner of three cats I could relate to this a lot lol. Well done :)

[emptyinkwell]

Haha, I feel like I often see a lot of similarities in the behaviors of domestic animals and humans. Thank you for the read and review!

[Tracey~]

Very clever. Great analogy. It truly allows the reader to connect themselves to running after nothing.. great write..

[emptyinkwell]

Thank you for the review and kind words! This is something I feel like I see too often in, not just my own life, but the lives of the people around me. As you can probably tell, it was inspired by the message of "The Great Gatsby" hence Catsby. It is truly saddening to realize you're chasing after nothing, but even worse to never know. I hope others who read this feel the same way you feel and start thinking about the worth and value of their goals.