Autumn the tortoiseshell cat nursed three kittens, her glowing fur like autumn leaves on fire. Between her paws, the kittens were a picture postcard of stunning autumn leaf ginger. Born in late September, they breathed beauty like autumn leaves lilting in the wind.
Ash, Rowan and Sycamore played among the leaves in the garden, autumn poetry in motion. Passersby would stop and stare, bewitched by the feline antics before them. Then at home they would sit still for a moment, inspiration like a cat’s paw patting their head. And words ran together like leaves lifting in the breeze. Little by little, the whole village were writing poems about autumn leaves.
Autumn’s owners were not immune. Jim and Sally sat together with notebooks in their hands and a storm of leaves inside. Poetry blew on the wind as the village beat to whispers of wonder.
Sally organised a poetry group, only to find her sitting room overrun such was the uptake. Everyone was writing poetry. Sally decided they would self-publish a collection. Autumn Leaves was ready by the end of the season.
As the kittens grew older and larger, the poetry did not stop, it only intensified. Leaves rustled underfoot as the villagers tried to sell their book of poetry. Meanwhile word spread like poetry seeds on the wind. People from all over the region came to the village, eager to pass the garden with the beautiful young cats, and to buy the book with its vibrant verses that bewitched the mind.
And little by little, the wider region began to write poetry. Letters to the editor of every local paper were filled with poems. Then the poetry reached the national papers too.
Sally set up a blog to celebrate autumn-themed poetry, complete with pictures of her growing kittens. Readers the world over were suddenly inspired to write poetry. And a renewed appreciation of autumn leaves painted its poem of hope everywhere, beauty turned to words that would last forever.
The kittens grew in to large and handsome cats. Everywhere they roamed, they spread wonder like a virus to vanquish sadness, a poem of purrs that would not be denied. And in their wake, stray autumn leaves danced like messengers from above. And the message was … poetry.
A love of poetry captured the hearts of the world. Everyone was writing poetry and even more were reading it. Poetry pamphlets became bestsellers, much to the astonishment of their authors. It was a revolution of the written word … and as poetry spread across the world, peace followed in its wake, like an autumn wish come true.
Three ginger cats played together in their garden, like autumn leaves they spun to music only they could hear. Their purr was a poem on the air, a ballet of beauty designed to delight. Whiskers and words intertwined to form autumn art. Like poems drifting on the wind, their nine lives were only just beginning … For when you find the perfect poem, it will never leave you. And autumn will arrive again, like a cat’s magic that lasts forever, the leaves of yesterday blowing to a tender tomorrow of dreams come true.
Of Felines and Fiction 