Monday 1 August 2011

The Night Cat


My inspiration for this poem came from something my oldest nephew said when he was just a little boy. Ashley, my sister explained to me that a few days earlier, she had been in the kitchen with my nephew and he was gazing out of the window while chatting away to her.

He suddenly exclaimed to his Mum, “Look Mummy! It’s a night cat!” Ashley looked out the window to see one of the neighbour’s cats strolling around and sniffing his way through the garden. She went on to say, “Oh yes, so it is! But why is it a night cat?” My nephew replied, “Because it’s black, like the night!”

I laughed at this really sweet observation from his young mind and said to my sister, “That sounds like the title of a poem to me!” Before long, I found myself writing a poem especially for my nephew called, “The Night Cat.” The original version references him specifically but I’ve adapted it so that it can be enjoyed by other little ones too!