Mary M. Schmidt Introduces Animal Poems - To Enjoy Or To Emulate!

Have you noticed that more writers are using the written word to express emotions? Some are concerned--worried about what is now happening in America... Some write fiction related to those issues... But, once in a while, somebody like Mary M Schmidt chooses to write to make us smile, to bring forth laughter, even, while sharing about things we are all familiar with, but have stopped paying attention to... to escape for a little while our reality... I, for one appreciated that decision. Because, of course, I can quite easily choose to consider living as one of those animals surrounding us! Cats! Here's what she says about living as a Cat...

CATS 

This is Charlie. She lives with me and now has 5 kittens to take care of... But, is she having fun or would she rather being doing cat things...

Today I am a cat,

I have to be on the lookout

 Where is that brat? I wait, I watch, here she comes, Wait, what’s she holding now? 

A fuzzy, cute little mouse! I slowly lift my claw, 

As her daddy warns… 

Don’t tease that cat or she will scratch. 

I get into my position, as the rodent drops, 

all I need now is a string of cheese, 

but wait Is it another trick? 

I see her smile, her smirk and as I release

 The most dramatic hiss, warning this pest 

She better get out of here or I will attack! 

What’s this, thank God, it’s Monday 

Freedom rings, the bell goes off and now, 

I can watch soaps with Mom. 

I sit and purr listening to Mom hum the

 

One Life to Live tune. 

Tick, tock, I think I hear the clock. 

Is that the sound of footsteps? Do I hear the door?

 Oh, no, it can’t be true… Is that brat back again?

 I better run, I better hide, no, wait… 

What, she doesn’t want to bother me today? 

Have you had a cat? I've lived with cats for most of my life, ranging from one or two up to 30! Wow... That was not a happy time for me or them. The life of a cat is definitely one I'd have to think about as to whether I wanted to be one!

Maybe... A Skunk!  And, of course, we remember the most well known! Pepe Le Pew!

Living in the country, I sometimes have had the displeasure of "smelling" a skunk... A pity, really, because they are so close to being a cat, that I'd like to pet one...LOL... Let's check out the author's thoughts:

I think I’m cute, 

so why doesn’t anybody seem to like me?

 I met this girl; I thought she was staring back at me, So I asked her out on a date…. 

She merely turned up her nose and pranced away, grumbling 

About how I smelled worse than a garbage dump

 I couldn’t believe what I was hearing 

since I bathed in the creek! 

I know she’s just imagining things; 

there can’t possibly be a stench, 

I’m a great-looking French gentleman. 

Where o where are you my beauty queen?

 I wait here at the corner and now here she comes

 The loveliest woman around, 

come here my sweet pea

 I am the skunk of your dreams! 

Oh, no, not again, 

she just clobbered me over the head, 

Now I have to slink away in a skunk’s disgrace. 

Uh, gee, what is that smell? Where is it coming from? I just can’t tell!

 Let me just stand here and hitchhike

 I stick out my thumb 

Oh, dear, it looks like I’m in luck! 

It’s another girl in a convertible 

Am I seeing this right? She looks just like me.

 I grin sheepishly as I slide in the passenger’s seat Hoping the odor is pleasantly disguised 

She doesn’t seem to mind as we drive into the sunset. Love is in the air for a great catch of a skunk, 

But who would want to date a skunk that stunk? 

Wait a minute, she is one, too! 

This is a fun book and there's more... Want to be an Ant?

Or a sheep?

Or a Puppy?

Or a Showfish

Or a Bird in a Cage?

Or a Chicken?

Or a Show Rabbit?

Or a Squirrel?

Or a Beautiful Butterfly?

I used to crawl around on the ground 

I always had to scrounge… But deep down inside

 I knew I was made for so much more. 

One day I saw this beautiful creature fluttering around a Cherry tree 

I was amazed wishing I could be there, too. 

All the ants, worms and grasshoppers laughed at me. They said I would never fly like that, 

I figured that I was just another ugly bug 

That slinked around in dirt and grime.

 I looked up, and kept watching the sky

 A cherry fell from the tree Wait a minute… 

What was happening to me? 

It really felt like I was spreading my wings. 

All the sudden I arose, I mustered up the courage.

 The impossible came alive, a miracle was born

 I transformed into a beautiful butterfly! 

A gorgeous day it was, a bright glowing cloudless sky. I just couldn’t describe, a picture so divine 

I learned all sorts of tricks, 

I turned left, I turned right, I twirled up, 

I twirled down, I swarmed and buzzed 

My problems were out of sight! 

I love being a butterfly, 

But once long ago, it just wasn’t true 

I knew there was a promise, sacred and true 

Mary M, Schmidt

As I finished this book, I thought that it was a wonderful book to share with your children as well. Sure, we adults sometimes like to get away from the chaos, but to children, it is a way to learn all about the animals that they might meet some day...! Reading of them, sharing the life they might be leading... Yeah, this book has much potential for both children and adults...when you want to play, Let's Pretend! Fun guaranteed!

GABixlerReviews

Cat Lady by Mary M. Schmidt - One Book; One Poem! And When There's Cats, There is Always More!

I, myself, have been called Cat Lady by nearby neighbor children... Right now I have ten cats at my home, three of them "strangers when we met..."

Once they meet me, they normally stay, even if some won't let me near them... Charlie, for instance, knew his name right away and stops if I call out to him, but will never let me come close, his eyes registering fear and distrust...Yet, he's stayed and found a home here and I can tell he feels safe and is well-fed even if he still is fearful...

So when Mary Schmidt wrote and asked me about reviewing her book, I quickly said, as I always do, that I have no background in poetry...but I quickly said that I loved cats... The book got here quite quickly I must say! And I soon met the Cat Lady of Rome...Note: some of these pictures can be found on Pinterest--Mary Grant's Cats of Rome site...


Cat Lady

Mary M. Schmidt

One might find on the streets of Rome

An elder soul who leaves her home,

Leans on her walker, makes her rounds,

Among remains of ancient grounds.

Some say that on these seven peaks

There's no more aged of antiques

Than Old Maria, gray and bent,

The last of her great beauty spent.

The book is beautifully done with just eight lines on each page and readers, like myself, will pause on each, considering the lives of the cat and that of old Maria, who like myself, provides food for cats... Others will read straight through the book, considering the rhyming words, the rhythm to be found, but, truth be told, it is the story that is what captures my attention, of course...

A few will snort and call her geezer,

Friend, they say, to Julius Caesar.

Others turn away and mutter

"Strega," cross themselves, and sputter.

Old Maria's heard it all,

Cat's hear, or care, what names they call.

She has her work to do, that that's

To feed the city's feral cats.

Among these cats, Egyptian Bast,

Whose shining coat is unsurpassed,

Is showing off her kittens fine,

Where she holds court, beneat a pine.

There's Ercole, he's white and bold

Venere, has eyes of gold,

Atena, with her brilliant mind,

To gain more wisdom, is inclined.

Now you may think that this book is all about cats, but that is just not so! You see, The Cat Lady was called into the home of a local Cardinal, Mezzaluna, who also needed her help!

...There'd be one so unorthodox,

Such as myself, to be permitted

To Mezzaluna's suite, admitted.

An old cat lady, bent and humble,

Made this lackey fret and mumble...

...Then said, For me, it is no task,

Your Eminence has but to ask!

...Please tell me what I need to do

To make your passing sweet for you..."

Well, there's lots more to learn about what the Cat Lady was asked to do...but I've given you an extra hint or two in the video above about love...you know, when I read a rhyming poem, it seems, I'm often drawn to rhyme as well! Anyway, this poem is exactly 31-pages long and ends with a mention that invites readers...When in Rome... that a certain gattara (cat lady) may just be able to find someone for you...Who Knew!

But, of course, there is a call for kindness to the feral cat colonies...because the cats are waiting for you there! Visit them at: www.friendsofromancats.org.

I must point out that this long poem is really a very sweet short story that many lovers...of cats or otherwise...will deem to be a perfect little tale that provides an excellent way to escape reality...and even head to Rome for a short visit! Cool, right?!!! Highly recommended...

GABixlerReviews

Mary M. Schmidt

Author/Poet

"Lynx"

https//gattaramaria.wordpress.com/

From the Author:

To the average tourist in Rome, Maria may be just

an old lady who feeds the city's stray cats. Yet

things are rarely as they seem. Her powers are

incredible. And to those who truly love, and seek

her assistance, the impossible is only an illusion.

~~~