Analysis of Legend of the Lost Cat
I went exploring one afternoon,
outside where I rarely go.
Things in the grass, things in the air,
but what I did not know.
You called to me, you called and called.
I pretended not to hear.
Then it got dark and I was scared,
but you were nowhere near.
I followed a fence going on and on
as far as I could see;
and very soon I was lost.
'Now where could my home be?'
Long after I was tired and hungry
and wanted my own bed,
I laid down in the grass
and used my paws to rest my head.
I gave a loud and mighty meow,
as only cats can do;
I listened and I listened,
but I did not hear you.
That night I lay shivering
inside a hollow log.
Protected but a little
from the cold, the damp, the fog.
I growled at every sound.
I didn't sleep all night.
And I was quite relieved
when it was finally light.
I meant to go straight home.
I really, really did.
But I just couldn't find my way;
so mostly I just hid.
So many days, so many nights
I wandered everywhere.
But no matter where I went
I could not find you there.
Now little girl who played with me:
I wonder if you cried?
And little boy who pulled my tail:
Do you think I died?
Well, I wanted you to know
that I am cozy and well fed;
And I go to sleep at night
at the foot of a warm, soft bed.
But I can’t help but wonder
what the other kitties do.
Are they out there all alone?
Or did they find new homes, too?
Scheme | XABA XXXX XCXC CDXD XEXE XXXX XFXF XGXG XBXB CHXH ADFD XEXE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 11010101 1111101 10011001 111111 11111101 1010111 11110111 11011 1100110101 111111 0101111 111111 1101110010 010111 111001 01111111 110101001 110111 1100110 111111 1111100 010101 0101010 1010101 1111001 110111 011101 1111001 111111 110101 11110111 110111 11011101 11010 1110111 111111 11011111 110111 01011111 11111 1110111 11110011 0111111 10110111 1111110 101011 1111101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,396 |
Words | 342 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 85 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
About this poem
For Bear, found the winter of 1993 under a construction site trailer the day the temperature dropped to 22 degrees below zero. She growled like a bear, so that became her name. I knew she was someone’s pet because she had been completely de-clawed. She was quite defenseless and I used to wonder if anyone worried about her or missed her. I lost my beloved Bear to cancer on May 4th, 2001. Whether anyone else ever missed her I do not know, but I miss her very much. The original poem was written in 1993, but the last four lines were added in 2016 because of the inspiration of a local organization called Logan County TNR Project, as well as two low-cost veterinary clinics, Champaign County Animal Welfare League and His Hands Extended Sanctuary. Legend of the Lost Cat 1993© 2016© Linda [Wesser] Yoest more »
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"Legend of the Lost Cat" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/134892/legend-of-the-lost-cat>.
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