{"id":5643,"date":"2013-04-07T17:10:41","date_gmt":"2013-04-07T21:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beginnersheart\/?p=5643"},"modified":"2013-04-07T17:10:41","modified_gmt":"2013-04-07T21:10:41","slug":"day-7-national-poetry-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2013\/04\/day-7-national-poetry-month.html","title":{"rendered":"day 7, National Poetry Month ~"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0There’s a tendency to think of poetry as not much fun. Unless you’re a total nerd\/ geek\/ dork… Or (as I heard said recently in a venue I would never have expected to hear the term) a pointy-head. Re: intellectual. NOT ordinary folks…<\/p>\n

It’s not true, of course. Children love poetry, until we ruin it for them. And no, poetry doesn’t have to rhyme. \ud83d\ude42 But it’s fun when it does — IF it does that difficult task well. And this poem — this author — is one of the best at \u00a0poetry, whatever I may think about other elements of his life…<\/p>\n

If you’re a cat lover, you may already know this poem in its musical version. If not? Enjoy. Here’s T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Old Gumbie Cat,’ about one of my favourite cats, Jennyanydots:<\/p>\n

The Old Gumbie Cat<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;<\/div>\n
Her coat is of the tabby kind, with tiger stripes and leopard spots.<\/div>\n
All day she sits upon the stair or on\u00a0the steps\u00a0or on the mat;<\/div>\n
She sits and sits and sits and sits–and that’s what makes a Gumbie Cat!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But when the day’s hustle and bustle is done,<\/div>\n
Then the Gumbie Cat’s work is but hardly begun.<\/div>\n
And when all the family’s in bed and asleep,<\/div>\n
She tucks up her skirts to\u00a0the basement\u00a0to creep.<\/div>\n
She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice<\/div>\n
Their behaviour’s not good and their manners not nice;<\/div>\n
So when she has got them lined up on the matting,<\/div>\n
She teachs them music,\u00a0crocheting\u00a0and tatting.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;<\/div>\n
Her equal would be hard to find, she likes the warm and sunny spots.<\/div>\n
All day she sits beside the hearth or on the bed or on my hat:<\/div>\n
She sits and sits and sits and sits–and that’s what makes a Gumbie Cat!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But when the day’s hustle and bustle is done,<\/div>\n
Then the Gumbie Cat’s work is but hardly begun.<\/div>\n
As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet,<\/div>\n
She is sure it is due to irregular\u00a0diet;<\/div>\n
And believing that nothing is done without trying,<\/div>\n
She sets right\u00a0to work\u00a0with her baking and frying.<\/div>\n
She makes them a mouse–cake of bread and dried peas,<\/div>\n
And a beautiful fry of\u00a0lean\u00a0bacon and cheese.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;<\/div>\n
The curtain-cord she likes to wind, and tie it into sailor-knots.<\/div>\n
She sits upon the window-sill, or anything that’s smooth and flat:<\/div>\n
She sits and sits and sits and sits–and that’s what makes a Gumbie Cat!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But when the day’s hustle and bustle is done,<\/div>\n
Then the Gumbie Cat’s work is but hardly begun.<\/div>\n
She thinks that\u00a0the cockroaches\u00a0just need\u00a0employment<\/div>\n
To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment.<\/div>\n
So she’s formed, from that lot of disorderly louts,<\/div>\n
A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts,<\/div>\n
With a purpose in life and a good deed to do<\/div>\n
And she’s even created a Beetles’\u00a0Tattoo.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So for Old Gumbie Cats let us now give three cheers<\/div>\n
On whom well-ordered households depend, it appears.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0There’s a tendency to think of poetry as not much fun. Unless you’re a total nerd\/ geek\/ dork… Or (as I heard said recently in a venue I would never have expected to hear the term) a pointy-head. Re: intellectual. NOT ordinary folks… It’s not true, of course. Children love poetry, until we ruin it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[459,22,1],"tags":[11,1181,1187,262,318,1190,488],"class_list":["post-5643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cats","category-poetry","category-uncategorized","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-national-poetry-month","tag-poetry","tag-t-s-eliot"],"yoast_head":"\nday 7, National Poetry Month ~ - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0There's a tendency to think of poetry as not much fun. Unless you're a total nerd\/ geek\/ dork... 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