Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets, but sometimes contributors come from another part of the country. This week’s poem is by John Angell Grant.
Grant is a writer/director from Palo Alto California. He has award winning short films. One is called “Two Stoners” and another one entitled “1958.” Grant also conducted and produced several interviews with Holocaust Survivors. Today he writes about a poet’s companion. This poem is called “The Green Notebook.”
As the cat steps slowly out
A side door
And into the backyard,
She sees a bright green notebook
Sitting on a garden table,
Under an umbrella,
Sheltered from the misty rain.
She jumps up on the table,
Finds a dry spot,
And sits next to the notebook;
Which she understands
Is a source of love.
She suspects I will sit at the table also,
And she wants to be with me.
The sun is low in the morning winter sky.
The rain now falls steadily.
This is good,
Because California is dry.
Joining the cat
Under the large garden umbrella,
I seat myself
In a dry chair,
And listen.
One bird calls,
Lonely,
In the distance.
Water splashes into the gutter
And lightly onto the ground.
The rain has something to say.
I don’t speak “rain” fluently,
So I will translate the best I can.
It seems to say,
“Be kind to yourselves,”
As it wets the dry ground.
Then it continues,
“And be kind to others.
We are here for only a short time.
Enjoy your momentary spark of earthly existence.
Soon it will be gone.
Here is some water.”
I look at the cat,
She looks up at me.
We understand today’s message,
Which is now written
In the green notebook.
