Thursday, April 02, 2009

Rebecca Kai Dotlich - Midnight Stray

MIDNIGHT STRAY
by
Rebecca Kai Dotlich

She stared at me from where she sat,
one matted lump of fragile cat
who wore a grayish tattered ear --

she heard me whisper cat, come here.

A squint, a lick, a paw so small,
she did not move or purr at all --
just skin and bones and stars above her.

And that is how I came to love her.

©2009 Rebecca Kai Dotlich. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.


Rebecca Kai Dotlich's poetry just flat out wows me. Maybe you've seen her poems in anthologies or in her own collections, but if you haven't... leave the computer now and go find them (or go to her website where you can peak inside some of her books). She packs so much oomph into her words… so much emotion… such a clear point of view. Suffice to say, I'm a huge fan… as are the many, many kids who've heard me read Rebecca’s work aloud to them or taken a book out of my hands and read it on their own.

Rebecca is the subject of today’s Poetry Makers post at the Miss Rumphius Effect. Head on over there and read a great Q+A, see another poem, and learn a lot about what makes this poet tick. Then take a peak at her picture book Bella & Bean (illustrated by Aileen Leijten) about a moody, obsessed poet mouse! And then go find her poems… and read.

Yesterday was "A Little Poem For Poetry Month" by Jack Prelutsky. Coming up tomorrow, “A Poem Is…” by Charles Ghigna.

20 comments:

Rachel Green said...

Oh! What a delight.

Tarie Sabido said...

I love the imagery in the poem. :o)

BookChook said...

Distilled essence of cat!

tanita✿davis said...

Oh, this is so sweet. And is it coincidence that you and Tricia are in sync on Ms. Dotlich?! Great minds!

laurasalas said...

Rebecca is one of my very favorite poets. She always puts me RIGHT in the middle of whatever she's describing. Thanks for this gorgeous poem!

Stasia D said...

This is pretty much a perfect poem.

Anonymous said...

Oh - Rebecca's poem! I love that. Such a clever way to work with form, and such a great way of conveying that cat's personality and, well, essence.

Von said...

"matted lump of fragile cat"--love that line. My children will adore this poem.

K-Sue said...

I loved this poem!

maryecronin said...

What a wonderful poem-- a great way to start the day.

Elaine Magliaro said...

Rebecca,

I love your cat poem! It's perfect. I love your poems in FALLING DOWN THE PAGE too!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah, Rebecca had me at "matted lump of fragile cat."

Love that.

Shutta said...

What a great poem! Thanks for posting.

Shutta

jon said...

Great poem! Our cat Godzilla's review: "miaow".

David LaRochelle said...

With such wonderful poems like this, how can a person resist checking in each day to see what you have posted?

I wasn't familiar with Rebecca's work before, but I'll be keeping my eyes open for her poetry from now on.

Linnie said...

Oh, just lovely!

Tricia said...

I am not a cat lover, but man I love this poem.

Amber said...

Thank you for a lovely poem! I'm sharing this with the little ones at the library later this month. It'll mesmerize them for sure!

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Love that cat poem! Thanks for highlighting her.

Linda said...

I am a cat lover, and this poem grabbed my heart. My two kitties were right here beside me as I read it. No wonder she's one of my favorite poets!