Thursday, August 13, 2026

Poetry Friday: "Trying to Write a Dog Poem in a House with Two Cats" by Billy Collins

Four years ago this week, we adopted Maisy from the animal shelter. 

She was basically a pre-schooler: 

Tiny Maisy

Now, of course, she has matured and become a responsible adult: 

The work is never done


In honor of four years with this near-perfect tabby (and with a tip of the hat to her admirable work ethic), I'm dedicating this week's Poetry Friday post to her. 

To Maisy! {clink!} 
To Billy Collins! {clink!} 
To cat poetry! {clink, clink!} 


Trying to Write a Dog Poem in a House with Two Cats
by Billy Collins

From a couch
littered with throw pillows

they are staring at me
and my open notebook,

and even though their tails
are not twitching

and their secret inboard
motors are not audible,

I know they are assuming
in unison

that I am writing
yet another dog poem
....
(Read the rest here, at Poets.org.) 

~~~~~~~~~~

The Poetry Friday round-up this week is being hosted by marvelous Molly at Nix the comfort zone

16 comments:

  1. Ha! Oh, Billy Collins...you clown, you. You totally deserve the cat's assumptions of what you are doing. What a great poem! It gave me a giggle.

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    1. Linda, it made me laugh too. And I was surprised I hadn't seen it before!

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  2. Marvelous poem! Billy Collins is a gem. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. Love Billy Collins. We have one cat and one dog in our house - and yes, there is judgment! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Carol, for sure. That judgment always makes me laugh. :)

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  4. What a great poem to share and celebrate your cat’s 4 years!

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  5. Margaret, yes, Billy Collins has a poem for every occasion, lol!

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  6. This is such a fun poem from Billy Collins. I love the "inboard motors" line. Also, the photo of your cat posed behind the laptop, coffee at hand, cracked me up. Somewhere I have a picture of my dear now-deceased cat, LingLing, poised to play Scrabble with her red wine nearby :) Ah, cats! Thanks for the smiles today!

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    1. Molly, ha, I would love to see LingLing ready for a night of Scrabble and wine!

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  7. Billy Collins always delivers! Thank you for sharing his poem, and hats off to Maisy.

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  8. LOL, Karen! Your captions and the pics are fabulous. xo

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  9. Poor, tortured Billy C! I hope you read his words to Maisy -- and caught her smirk ;)

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  10. Karen, Little Maisy is adorable. 4 years later she appears to be a lovely cat who enjoys posing for the camera. She does a better job than my 3l ittle grandgirls do.On our family trip, I had a difficult time asking them to pose for my camera. Choosing a Billy Collins poem to share with us was a bonus.

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