Tuesday, April 21, 2009
13 Ways of Skinning a Cat
Apropos of nothing:
Thirteen Ways of Skinning a Cat
(apologies to Mr. Stevens)
I
Among twenty deserted farmhouses,
The only moving thing
Was the whetstone of a redneck.
II
I was of three minds,
Like a boy
With a cat and a Swiss Army Knife.
III
The cat’s carcass twisting in the autumn wind,
Delicate sinews suspended from a meathook.
IV
A cat and a farmer
Are one.
A cat and a farmer and a machete
Are one.
V
I do not know which I prefer,
The sharp tang of heavy spices
Or the mellow coat of cream,
Cat Vindaloo
Or Cat Korma.
VI
Kittens filled the farmer’s house
With incessant mewling.
The shadow of their mother
Crossed them, to and fro.
The mood
Festooned the stale air
With the inevitable conclusion.
VII
O fat men of Georgia,
Why do you imagine obedient cats?
Do you not feel how the cat
Digs its claws into your skin
As you raise it to the butcher’s block?
VIII
I know feline contours
And troublesome sharp bones;
But I know, too,
That the cat will have its measure of skin
Before it yields.
IX
When the cat slinks into shadow,
Its fur is no softer,
But it will do for mittens.
X
At the sight of cats
Moving in great slinking herds,
Even the Texas ranch hands
Would flee in terror.
XI
He rode over Wyoming
In a checkered cab.
Once, a fear prowled through him,
In that he mistook
The local militia
For ASPCA agents.
XII
I’ve opened a can of tuna.
The cat will be by, shortly.
XIII
It was morning all night.
The cat was glowering
And it was going to glower.
It doesn’t know
About my revolver.
Thirteen Ways of Skinning a Cat
(apologies to Mr. Stevens)
I
Among twenty deserted farmhouses,
The only moving thing
Was the whetstone of a redneck.
II
I was of three minds,
Like a boy
With a cat and a Swiss Army Knife.
III
The cat’s carcass twisting in the autumn wind,
Delicate sinews suspended from a meathook.
IV
A cat and a farmer
Are one.
A cat and a farmer and a machete
Are one.
V
I do not know which I prefer,
The sharp tang of heavy spices
Or the mellow coat of cream,
Cat Vindaloo
Or Cat Korma.
VI
Kittens filled the farmer’s house
With incessant mewling.
The shadow of their mother
Crossed them, to and fro.
The mood
Festooned the stale air
With the inevitable conclusion.
VII
O fat men of Georgia,
Why do you imagine obedient cats?
Do you not feel how the cat
Digs its claws into your skin
As you raise it to the butcher’s block?
VIII
I know feline contours
And troublesome sharp bones;
But I know, too,
That the cat will have its measure of skin
Before it yields.
IX
When the cat slinks into shadow,
Its fur is no softer,
But it will do for mittens.
X
At the sight of cats
Moving in great slinking herds,
Even the Texas ranch hands
Would flee in terror.
XI
He rode over Wyoming
In a checkered cab.
Once, a fear prowled through him,
In that he mistook
The local militia
For ASPCA agents.
XII
I’ve opened a can of tuna.
The cat will be by, shortly.
XIII
It was morning all night.
The cat was glowering
And it was going to glower.
It doesn’t know
About my revolver.
# posted by Gene Justice @ 11:00 AM 
Comments:
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I like cats but I like this too. I had just finished reading up on shamisen and how the best ones use the somach portion of a cat skin, with the nipples providing a interesting aesthetic detail. Cat skin serendipity.
Hi,
Sorry to do this in a comment, but I didn't see an email address for you anywhere on the site. I'm a former native English teacher (lived and worked in Korea for two years) who is now a Master's student at the University of Glasgow. The reason I'm writing to you is that I'm hoping you would be willing to complete a questionnaire that forms part of the research I am conducting for my MSc Information Management & Preservation dissertation.
My dissertation will examine the role of blogs in helping to form and shape a sense of community identity amongst expats living in South Korea. This is being done in order to determine the archival value of these blogs and examine if, and how, they should be preserved.
Basically, I believe that today’s archives are rife with personal diaries and papers which allow us a glimpse into the past. But, what of the archives of the future? How many people today actually keep a pen and paper journal or write letters home? More and more native English teachers living in Korea have replaced diaries and letters home with blogs. Furthermore, due to the nature of the native English teacher community in Korea, much of the information about this community can only be found on the Internet on sites such as blogs (like yours). Therefore, a failure to preserve blogs may create a black hole of information for future generations of archives users.
You can read more about my project as well as fill out my questionnaire by visiting http://2009msc.wordpress.com Some of the issues I'm examining are what happens to blogs when their authors decide to stop writing and if blog authors would be willing to have their blogs digitally preserved, so I'd be interested to hear your views on these matters. I’d really appreciate it if you could find the time to complete the questionnaire.
Thank you,
Kimberly.
Sorry to do this in a comment, but I didn't see an email address for you anywhere on the site. I'm a former native English teacher (lived and worked in Korea for two years) who is now a Master's student at the University of Glasgow. The reason I'm writing to you is that I'm hoping you would be willing to complete a questionnaire that forms part of the research I am conducting for my MSc Information Management & Preservation dissertation.
My dissertation will examine the role of blogs in helping to form and shape a sense of community identity amongst expats living in South Korea. This is being done in order to determine the archival value of these blogs and examine if, and how, they should be preserved.
Basically, I believe that today’s archives are rife with personal diaries and papers which allow us a glimpse into the past. But, what of the archives of the future? How many people today actually keep a pen and paper journal or write letters home? More and more native English teachers living in Korea have replaced diaries and letters home with blogs. Furthermore, due to the nature of the native English teacher community in Korea, much of the information about this community can only be found on the Internet on sites such as blogs (like yours). Therefore, a failure to preserve blogs may create a black hole of information for future generations of archives users.
You can read more about my project as well as fill out my questionnaire by visiting http://2009msc.wordpress.com Some of the issues I'm examining are what happens to blogs when their authors decide to stop writing and if blog authors would be willing to have their blogs digitally preserved, so I'd be interested to hear your views on these matters. I’d really appreciate it if you could find the time to complete the questionnaire.
Thank you,
Kimberly.
Hi Gene, great blog. Is there any way to contact you via email? You can reach me at affiliates@koreanclass101.com. Thx!
this is hilairious even if its not supposed to be! look at my blog, check out my videos http://poppsx.blogspot.com/
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