Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Poem for Today: Pawprints and Raindrops

Early on a rainy morning...
Early on a rainy morning…

I awoke to gentle rain this morning, raindrops tapping on the roof and softly whispering in the trees all around the house. I remember a quiet rainy Saturday morning five years ago, and Kelly. This poem was inspired by her and a another drizzly summer morning in 2009. I could have no better tribute to her gentle and loving personality. August 11 was the day she left us in 2012, but I waited for a Saturday to share this poem; we always seem to have a drizzly Saturday morning around this time and it brings back the memory in full, bittersweet but a memory I cherish.

Pawprints and Raindrops

I am not awake but aware
of the sound of raindrops
whispering in the leaves and tapping on the roof
in the early morning, still dark
and little Kelly, sensing my awareness
hurries over and steps on my back;
I feel her tiny cold paws dimpling the surface of my skin
as I drift off in the murmur of her purr and the rain
I think of raindrops on water,
I am the water, my skin the surface
and I can look up and in the increasing daylight
see the circular ripples of contentment
mingling on my own surface.

poem © 2010 Bernadette E. Kazmarski

You can listen to the poem too—see the link below.

~ ~~~ ~

About the poem…

Kelly really did this one early Saturday morning in 2009. I listened to the rain in the blue light of early dawn. She knew I was awake and came over and walked all over my back, purring. We were the only ones awake. Kelly had tiny paws and they were always cold, something that was uniquely her, and picturing those tiny paws dimpling my skin through the sheet as she walked on me was what connected the rain, the water, Kelly and me. I remember visualizing the lines of this, images first, descriptive words later.

CWA-BADGE_BlackMuseI wrote this poem in 2009 but finalized it just in time for my annual poetry reading at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in February 2010. Pawprints and Raindrops went on to be published on a variety of sites on the internet, and it also won both a Certificate of Excellence and Muse Medallion for poetry from the Cat Writer’s Association in 2010. In spring 2012 I began recording some of my poems, especially those with highly visual content so that I could also create a slideshow of images to accompany the text. I’ve recorded it with a slideshow of images which you can watch right here.

If it doesn’t play above, here’s the link to it on my YouTube Channel (good heavens, I have a YouTube channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkXVjMbQTcQ

~ ~~~ ~

Though sad, please also read the account of that day in 2011 in “Where’er You Walk“.

Also read the series “A Little Bit About Kelly“, the story of Kelly’s life and rescue, which I hope to develop into an illustrated book.


Enjoy other poems about my cats.

Listen to other recorded poems about my cats.

Visit my YouTube site for all my recorded poems (so far).


Help me tell Kelly’s story, and publish my poetry

In 2012 I drafted Kelly’s rescue story, “A Little Bit About Kelly” in five chapters published here on The Creative Cat. Kelly’s story represents the story of so many abandoned cats who suffer from trying to survive where they aren’t wanted. I want to finish the story and illustrate it with photos and illustrations, and share it to tell the story of abandoned and feral cats everywhere.

I also want to anthologize my feline poetry in print, electronic and audio versions.

Read more in this article on The Creative Cat and Visit my PATREON page.




Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


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© 2022 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:

Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life

Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters

Tuesday: Rescue Stories

Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork

Thursday: New Merchandise

Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy

Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats

And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

 
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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

2 thoughts on “Poem for Today: Pawprints and Raindrops

    • Oh, thank you, Kathy! Kelly was just like raindrops. Thanks for stopping!

      Reply

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