Foe-turned-friend

  •   Thu, Jul 07 2011
  •   By Neema Shahir

July 8, 2011


                                            
My neighbour oldie had a kitten;
It was black and white smitten;
With fluffy tail and greeny eyes;
And silky fur covering the trunk.

The kitten kneeled in front of God's depiction;
From that time it was a pious kitten;
It has a spectacle mark on the forhead;
And that added to its holiness.

The myth goes like this..
The oldie asked the mummy cat for 'a' kitten
The mummy cat bought 'a' kitten
From among the seven she had in another dwelling.

The oldie was in praise for the cat's intellect;
She treated the being as her child,
She patted it with her wrinkled hand,
And bathed it with the scented soap.

But the kitten liked my home better
And I disliked it as the bitter.
Like an uninvited guest it came
Taking charge of my life in a little while.

When I closed the front door
It entered through the back door.
When I closed the back door
It entered through the front door.

When I closed both the doors
It entered through the half opened window.
When I closed that too
I could see the tiny, peeping through the ventilation.

I tried to scare it with the broom 
It stared me back through the broom.
I harshly moved the broom up and down
It sat calmly enjoying fan by the broom.

I couldnt beat it on the back
As it was too tiny for the strike.
So I acted that I am about to beat
But it knew better than the act.

When I fried my fish,
I saw little whiskers behind the stove.
When I ate my meal,
I heard tiny whimpers down the table.

One day I found cats poop in the bed,
I was at my wits end.
Getting rid of the creature
Became a mental torture.

I shooed it out with my chappal tip
Just for it to return within my nap.
Milk in the cup diminished,
Fish in the plate disappeared.

Day and night I devised plans
To drive the kitten out of my house.
The brutal plans never fitted fine
And the kitten roamed over my dine.

Finally I tried the human way
I will ignore it and it will go away.
Plan worked fine, but only for the kitten
More and more freedom was taken by the kitten.

One fine afternoon-
A light nap after the meal,
I woke up suddenly
To hear the freeking meaoo,

This is such a mess
The cat is soo sick
No tolerance any more
Piece of stick is better than peace

I jumped down with the stick
Suddenly I found with a shock
I was facing a serpent
That lay long along the wall

With mosaic pattern and robust built
I was sure it was the poisonous viper
The cat cried frivolously
And I shrieked out for help

The oldie came rushing in
Cautiously looked at the snake
She looked me back with a wild grin
"It is just a rat snake"

She led it out through the door
As if it was her pet for long
Patting the kitten with her hand
She left my home with an innocent smile

Something was churning my mind
Something not proper was going on
Curse me! I needed a rat snake
To realise nature's true love

From that day matters changed a lot
The 'oldie' became 'auntie' to me
The notorious kitten is my naughty pal
A share of milk and fish were kept apart

And a part of the meal found its way beneath the table
And I stood there watching with affectionate eye
The gulping of the food which was never left back
And thanking kitty for teaching me life's lesson.

 

Neema Shahir Archives:
By Neema Shahir
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Comment on this article

  • gausiya mp, uppala

    Sun, Jul 31 2011

    Hai neema,
    very nice.i have cat and i like them very much.in the beginning of poem i was thinking how can we just hate that inocent creature they are pure ofcourse.we should love them.after reading this may be all will feel the importance of pet.because i think they are very curious in nature.and sometimes me too go outside hearing my catty sound and find reptiles.very good poem .keep writing on animals because i like all animals.

  • swasthik shetty, udupi

    Fri, Jul 15 2011

    very nice

  • Clara, Mangalore/Mumbai

    Mon, Jul 11 2011

    Good job Neema. I liked it.God Bless.

  • hannan, mangalore

    Sat, Jul 09 2011

    gud too read neah

  • Hisham Ahmed, Mangalore

    Fri, Jul 08 2011

    Cute pet and nice one, it reminded one hindi lesson the writer was a teacher and she has little squirrel who was waiting till she returns from college, the moment she comes she runs up and down the curtains and make some noise to draw her attention, she repeats same when teacher was doing some studies, then teacher will take her in palm and feed her some milk and nuts and keep her in front of her desk where she waits patiently till she finishes her work. One time teacher was sick and was in hospital for couple of days, her pet squirrel waited days and days and refused to take any food, these pets are lovely.
    Good poem sister, keep it up

  • Dolfred D'Souza, Goa/Managalore/UK

    Fri, Jul 08 2011

    This is nice and meaningful poem. It teaches us to be Kind and to do random acts of kindness every day. Let us remember that there is a natural law of reciprocity what you give in life you get back. If you give out kindness you will over your lifetime receive that kindness back, often in ways of which you may not be fully aware. What you put into life, life gives you back with interest.God bless you Neema.Keep it up !

  • NAGESH PRABHU, MANGALORE/ABUDHABI

    Fri, Jul 08 2011

    It is fantastic.

  • Ramesh, mangalore

    Fri, Jul 08 2011

    very nice

  • jagadish shetty, mangalore/ dudai

    Fri, Jul 08 2011

    good one


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