by
Eric Ode
What a strange and silly cat
to make yourself at home like that
with no concern for rain or flood;
your tender paws in sticky mud.
What fussy pussy cat would dare
to stroll the marsh and settle there
and never hiss or spit or stir
while on your tail
a blackbird sits
and nips and nibbles at your fur?
© Eric Ode. All rights reserved.
Eric Ode is another one of those multi-talented poet folk I keep running across. Obviously, he can flat out write, as Cattail demonstrates with its imaginative view of what's happening in the marsh. His multiple books and his poems in anthologies (and on a Grammy winning CD!) give further proof (and lots of laughs, too). Yet beyond that, he's an award-winning, guitar-playing singer-songwriter. And, because it makes me happy, we're making a brief switch from verse to some verses to hear Eric sing his own composition, This Song Has No Elephants -
(If the video is not showing up for you, you can find it here on YouTube)
I can only imagine the fun of an in-class experience with Eric's poetry and music combined. Personally, I'd settle for either one, but since I can't have that at the moment, I'm thrilled to have Eric Ode here for myself (and all of you!) today at 30 Poets/30 Days.
Yesterday, Michael Salinger put us through us through a workout with The Rock Climber. Tomorrow... Amy Ludwig VanDerwater with Secret! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.
8 comments:
The recent March Madness made me a new fan of Eric Ode! I adore the clever wordplay in this cattail poem and that perfect tail-sitting blackbird. I also really appreciate the heart in Eric's poems. Thank you, Eric and Greg, for the video too. I will be singing "No elephants" all day! a.
It's always terrific when a poet looks at everything with new eyes, & makes us look too. There is a class at my school that is actually been sitting near a wetlands nearby & writing. I will share this poem with them. And thanks for the video Greg & Eric. Like Amy, I'll be singing this tune for a while.
Oh, lucky, luckily named Eric Ode! A born poet.
Great post! Love the poem and the video. I've known Eric since 2003, and we finally had a chance to work together in New Mexico. Yes, Greg, he had the room clapping, singing, noise-making, and laughing. Oh, and learning, too!
What a fun, splendid poem! My cats like it, too. And I'll be humming about those missing pachyderms for a while as well... Thanks, Greg and Eric!
Vintage Eric! I love it. A nice earworm for the day to boot.
Thank you both.
Fab, and I so enjoyed no elephants.
Wow! Thank you so much for the post, Greg, and to everyone for the VERY kind comments! I love hearing that the poem is getting a bit of exposure.
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