Forced By This Title to Write a Poem in Third Person About Himself, the Poet Considers the Phenomena of Standing Waves, Dreams Involving Long-Lost Cats (Even If He Has Not Had Such a Dream Himself), And the Amazing Durability of Various Forms of Weakness
Five White cat always made sure no rats gnawed my books.
— Mei Yao-ch’en
His brain is squirming like a toad.
— Jim Morrison
Standing by the water, the poet wonders if,
as in this dream, his dead dog and Five White
might seize the separate ends of a rope and blend
their tugs, matching highs and lows, growls and purrs,
with near stillness, dawn to dusk and back again,
always equal, sharing through death their love
of work and honor. He throws a small branch
and asks the dog’s ghost to fetch, but it remains
at his side, as if reluctant to leave. How to release
what you no longer hold? Shadows disappear in direct
light, but always return at its departure. The
raindrop remains intact through its long plummet.
Words, though unspoken, hang like lofted kites
awaiting a new wind, a separate rhythm,
beyond compassion. He cannot hear it
but joins his dog in singing. The cat yowls along.
This piece first appeared in deLuge in fall 2016, and was drafted during the August 2015 30-30 challenge. Thanks to Jeff Schwaner for providing the title (which I edited for publication).
❤
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Thank you, Carrie!
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I love the ethereal wandering. Have I seen this before, strikes a memory?
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Thanks, Jim. The poem would not have been written if not for Jeff Schwaner’s title. It is brilliant! I’ve posted this several times, so you’ve probably seen it.
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Cannot help but consider the phenomena of this title – the possibilities of its pre-edit density – if the original was even longer – or demanded enhancement for Okaji clarity …?
Love the envisioned ghost cat yowling along with singing ghost dog!
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The title was longer, and demanded attention that I couldn’t provide given the constraints of the challenge – a poem a day for 30 days. Here’s the original title: “Robert Okaji, Forced By This Title to Write a Poem in Third Person About Himself, Considers the Phenomena of Standing Waves, Dreams Involving Long-Lost Cats (Even If He Has Not Had Such a Dream Himself), And the Amazing Durability of Various Forms of Weakness, In a Meditation Which Following the Form of Certain Sung Dynasty Poets Also Happens to Be Written in a Way That Can Be Chanted to the Tune of a Popular Song of His Youth.” I actually broke out the guitar and tried to write something to a Doors tune, but realized that I needed weeks to do that. Maybe someday. It would be fun.
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Would definitely be fun to READ that if you do ever write it! (But what on earth was Jeff thinking!?)
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Ha! I think Jeff wanted to challenge me.
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Love this title and the poem. But am wondering if it should be Five White cats within the poem, too?
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Thanks, Jilanne. Five White was the name of Mei Yao-ch’en’s cat. Both Jeff and I love Mei’s poetry, so I naturally assumed his mention of lost cats referred to Five White. My adaptation of Mei’s poem about Five White can be found here: https://robertokaji.com/2018/08/08/lament-for-five-white-cat-after-mei-yao-chen-3/ It was a fun poem to write!
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Oh, I see. Thanks for clarifying!
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The Chinese literature scholar in me always geeked out on Jeff’s titles; you just can’t resist playing with it yourself and being intrigued by where it goes. And I think of all the classic poems titled “To the Tune of x” — the actual music of which has been lost over the millennia. I look forward to that “To the Tune of ‘Riders on the Storm'”… and the notion of distant future generations trying to recover the melody! ^_^
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Ha! You nailed the tune. I messed with the bass line a bit, but had to give up. It would be fun to return to at some time, perhaps with a new or rewritten version of this poem.
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