“He took her for a ride…”
Blur
He took her for a ride..she was like his brand new kitten.
First the hills, looked so bright, rolling past her window.
She lost her fear to be inside his moving car,
and settled in to stretch along the whole back seat.
He took her for a ride…seemed he was a lot like her.
They giggled to the radio and crooned the moon.
She poured out every detail of her story as he stroked her,
and moved up front with confidence to get a little closer.
He took her for a ride…there was always food and water.
The engines hummed inside him, like a growl.
But she was comforted by the sound, as she was trusting,
and the scenery became a blur, because they moved so fast.
He took her for a ride… she lost all sense of time and place.
He called her “my naughty stray” but she knew that he was kidding.
The windows down, the cool night air came rushing in around them,
while she fell asleep upon his lap, touching the hem of heaven.
He took her for a ride…until she heard the motor slowing to a stop.
She opened up her sleepy eyes, to see a dirt-road, framed by endless woods.
He couldn’t think of a thing to say, when he quickly opened up her door…
Abandoned by the roadside, unwanted cat, the gears a’shifting as he drove away.
Karima Hoisan
Nov. 26th 2012
Bay of Tranquility, SL
Digital Rabbit Hole 
oh how sad… and the cat so scared in the woods… I hope it found a good place that night.
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Smiles..Thanks Steve..don’t worry…I know that cat well..she will be just fine:)
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Ponders, ponders, ponders… And knows the wisdom of the cat. ~
I do like the repetition in this poem, too, Kari, and the imagery of traveling,
and the thought-provoking metaphor all around. The blur is both a poignant
image and a beautiful one. I do like your style, all the way around. Hugs~
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Thank you Luna.I thought you might see this well.. clearly :)..and thank you for your enjoyment of the metaphor (it’s what came to mind).. I too find the fate of the cat sadder, as it has no idea why it was tossed out of the car..,. while the lover might have a few ideas before he or she is dumped. Yes the cat is a cat, it will survive, so will the lover, but is likely to carry around a few scars . In the end, both heal..and hopefully both, will be better off in the future. Big hugs back:)
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This poem touches the heart because of the gentle innocence of the cat met with abandonment by the driver, so sad. In contrast I would like to convey a more likely view, that of a similar driver.
Driver’s thoughts: “This poor abused cat, so confused. I should never have fed the stray. It tore up my furniture, clawed gouges and bites in my flesh, and fought with my other pets, sigh. If I turn it in to pet control they will kill it. It’s best chance for life is to be a feral cat in the woods. It has survival skills, life will not be easy for the cat but what choice do I have here? This is the most humane option – the cat will survive and have the best quality of life possible.” Sadly, the man sets the cat free in the wild – where it belongs.
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HI Les..interesting point of view you have opened up in your comment. Like Steve, you see the cat as a cat. and you are taking the driver’s point of view..I can go there, because this poem can be seen on several different levels, and no one level is right or wrong. Yes in the woods I guess is a safer place, but one wonders if he exhausted a bit of energy to find another home..I guess if it was biting and clawing and fighting maybe it was because it was half wild, or maybe just scared…. was that really the only solution…to abandon it? Obviously , the driver saw it as that. He wasn’t being cruel on purpose but “out of necessity” and is it a cruelty or a blessing to be a cat let out in a woods? Lots of conjecture, no one answer..I know Nat will have something to say here.now that the “cat is a Cat” she loves them and might not agree.. Thank you so much though, for taking the time to leave a comment for me, which focuses on another point of view. It was refreshing to watch your mind work, whether I can agree with it or not 100%
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Hi Karima, so many thoughts and scenarios come to mind when the cat is not a cat. Is the cat a woman, a child, a career, a country, a home, a sports team, or other entity that was part of the man’s life that he must now return to it’s natural environment for reasons that the original poem leaves unexplained. Without those reasons, the act seems cruel, however with the fill-in-the-blank reasons which basically add up to attack and violation toward the the man, perhaps the conclusion is that the subject has left the man with few options.
Could he have found a better home? Possibly. That question was addressed by the reference to “pet control” killing it, which suggests that the man has given this some thought and exhausted the other possibilities. Contrary to what we tell our children when a pet is hopelessly ill, there are very few happy ranches for them to live out their final days.
As a Christian, I am taught to turn the other cheek and love my enemy, however there are limits. If there are life-threatening implications or personal violations or threats to myself or loved ones or whatever may be extremely inappropriate behavior on the part of the other person, one may be forced to take action beyond pure tolerance. Sometimes self-preservation drives behavior and that is appropriate in some situations.
Wow, there is so much more to discuss. i suppose you could say that you know art is good when it brings forth lots of thought and interpretation – thanks for that, Karima!
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This poem is simple. But, at the same time deep, powerful and profound! Abandonment is shared by everything and everyone. Both the animate and inanimate. A cat, dog, senior, child, tree, forest, the seaside, a rock….Les Hall captures it better than I in the above comment. And the ending…so potent…so…so… final. Your poetry always speaks for so many. The sign of a great poet. This is one of your best. (How many times have I said that?) 🙂
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First, offI want to say to all who have commented, that I am pleasantly surprised that this poem has elicited such a strong and varied response. I do take this as a compliment, as Les suggests..Art is asked to do just that..and it seems this little simple poem, has more sides to see, than even I had expected, and that makes me very happy..Even if we all disagree…but I am interested to see how this poem touches you, and it seems the literal sense of the cat being abandoned is the one that has the most immediate and passionate response… so interesting for me the poet..as I really never know what it is for sure myself until several re readings…:)
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Yes Hoyt, it seems you and Luna both see more the metaphor at first glance than the literal, and Les talks about the metaphor but after his first time around. As I said when I was writing it, I had one point of view but saw the other, (not saying which one) but it makes no difference now, as it could be about all the different scenes you mentioned and Les did too… Yes seniors,orphan street kids, those with mental illness. and as someone who struggled with a loved-one who was mentally impaired, I know that that thought does come into play. “Easier drop them off in a State Mental Hospital somewhere deep in the woods, than to have to deal with them at home. If you have enough love and passion and if you understand with patience the cat, the senior, or the lover,for me love always wins out over walking away, or abandonment. But, if there is no love, no interest, and all is only irritating and acidic, well you will take them for that last ride, and if they have honed survival instincts,they might jump out before they get to that sad conclusion too.Someone at first glance read this poem, and said it was not up to my standards of poetry. Well I am not sure what that means or what my standards are, but this poem was a sleeping tiger not a kitten, not a one month love affair, and it has awakened such wonderful response..I am glad to have posted it anyway:) Thank you Hoyt for your last lines and your true continual support of this my humble attempt at writing a sort of different kind of poem.
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This one left me back in anger!
Cause cats are not really pets. They have their own character, they are indivuduals. You dont find them. They find you.
And then they trust you in every thing, every situation.
And they feel when you are happy or sad or even if you are ill. And then they want to cheer you up with their little jokes. Or they come to you comfort you. rubbing your nose with their little heads, purring.
They warm you when you freeze.
They have no prejudices, wether you’re woman or man, or long or short, black or white or an alien from planet 9.
But they have their own character. And you have to accept as they accept you. If a cat bites you, dont say that she’s evil, ask why? Ask yourself what have I done?
Cats have their habits, they are conservative but in a good way 🙂 Let me tell you, that one of my cats always has bitten my nose, when I slept too long, and she was hungry. So, is that evil? No, was my fault. Or when I went with her to the vet. She doesn’t liked that and three days she got mad.
But hey, I am the one who knows, what is good for her and so I accepted her reaction.
On the other hand cats are happy to make gifts, too. My other cat caught some flies and layed
them on my bedtable. First I want to rant, but as I noticed how proud she was about her hunting
success and her gift for me, I talked and stroked her softly and I could see how happy she was
purring all the time.
What I wanna say is, If you decide to live with a cat, consider that cats are on their own. Their love is unconditioned and without prejudice. But they have their habits and you have accept 99% of them. If you can’t accept, don’t go with a cat.
Cats, like other pets, aren’t a toy you can throw away. A cat is a sensitive, intelligent creature. And can become your best friend ever.
A cat lives in the here and now, but she remembers what has happend. She has something like a sixth sense, a radar how her human friend feels. She always want good feelings around her and so she does always the best to comfort you.
But at last you are the human in that relationship, you can think twice. You are responsible put things on the right track.
There will be no reason to abandon a cat, never!
A betrayal of trust, and Karima’s Poem tells us about it, is never acceptable. In no way!
I know, many people think about cats, oh they are just animals. I my opinion those people are superficial characters, like the guy in the car. If I could I wish him a big tree on the street, behind the next curve. Not to kill him, but, after the crash, for feeling alone in the dark wood, with no one by his side, no food no nothing. Only the eyes…out of the dark, strange noises, the wind in the leaves, let fear him to death…
For me, there’s only one point of view, the victim’s point of view. The offender? Who cares? Not me!
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Nat, first I want to say , when you IMd me and said you had written “sort of a long comment” and that not “everyone was going to like it” I admit I smiled, as I felt that might be coming. I know you, and now just recently and more even after this comment, I know about your passion for cats..how you have lived with them, loved them, taken care of them, observed them with your shrewd Director’ s eye, and a large loving heart, and had to say goodbye to them too after living long lives with you. Your point of view was what was lacking, that of the cat..not of the liberal who thinks about their welfare, but the cat herself (as she is a she in the poem) the individual, not a pet, but an intelligence, that, as you say does not judge, knows how to love, and behaves many times for reasons we don’t quite understand all the time. I felt your anger, and your sense of injustice,and you have taught me many things about cats I would have never known. I am so glad you saw this poem in the literal sense, and felt comfortable enough with me and also who read this little blog, to speak your mind, with strong images, and well..your passion was showing Nat and your deep sense of loyalty to the feline population. Thank you for sharing it all here with us.and I am so pleased once again that a simple poem of mine has sparked many many thoughts in you. Thank you for your wonderful description of the many layers of being a good friend and finding a good friend in a cat, and treating them accordingly. Big hugs
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Dogs have owners, cats have staff. 🙂
I like to imagine this one thinking “The nerve! It’s so hard for a kitten to find good help these days.”
But still; it tugs the heart…
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And you Dale, added the humor! That was also needed, and that is a cute expression I have never heard before. “What an incompetent driver” He let me out in the middle of nowhere!” Reminds me of the opening scene of David Lynch;s classic movie “Mulholland Drive”, where that is how it begins as I recall, when they supposedly take the movie star on her last ride:) but yes, when we think it wasn’t quite like that way, it is very hurtful to imagine.:(
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I have a couple of brief comments. First, I loved the poem and can easily see all the different levels contained within your beautifully written words. 🙂 I would also like to heartily agree with Nat and all her comments! I am definitely a “cat person,” hence my choice of avatar in SL. I have three cats and there is not One day that goes by when each of them doesn’t make me smile by something they do!
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ohh thank you Spiral, for adding to the interesting discussion that sprung up around this poem. I am glad you enjoyed it on the poetic level, and thanks too for more good cat testimony:) I know Nat will like you did too:)
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Ohhh such a glorious poem… with a car as its star… and despite the insecurity of a hopeless cat’s despair.. the car still travels to the scene of the crime… and allows the separation to occur.
Provider of that final thrill, speeding along the avenues, wind in the fur…
Therapy with a recommended mechanic the next day..
So well delivered.
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Aww Sheppers!! Thank you for saying that..yes a fast moving car that turned into a blur for at least the passenger:) Thank you so much for your great impressions. I am working on the musical piece to read this one next reading.It is a “road song” relentless, wheels humming, moving out, moving along..I can’t wait to do it and put my heart into every line..as all of a sudden looking back on my life, I could have been the cat in that car too:):)
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Darn carrots, lol. I was thinking, that will never work, but, but…Oh my… 🙂
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laughing..nothing like a “tasty carrot” to make a donkey walk into another movie hahaha
I hope so…anyway !!
hugs Nat
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I’m so proud that I even know you 🙂 I love you soo much
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And I love you Kadoori:):) and also proud how you are living your life. Your mother (may she rest in peace) was and would be even more proud to see you today!! Hugs you tight
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I worked a lil for it, but you, Andres, Jessica, Adrian and my family the who helped me to be where I am now. So thank you all. Kisses 🙂
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