Tuesday Poem: “Old Pet” by Barbara Strang
Old Pet
Molly is a useless pet,
nervous, unfriendly.
She will not sit on my knee.
Molly is not sleek any more
she is middle-aged
and shows it.
She is greedy and fussy,
she won’t eat
bargain meat.
Sometimes she rubs
against my leg,
purrs after dinner.
She is drawn round the face,
her belly sags
from kittens she bore –
she is past all that,
she is past her best,
I know it.
She lies all day in the garden,
her rusty coat blends with the weeds,
I hardly notice her.
She and I
in the large backyard –
and only me to miss her.
.
© Barbara Strang
Published in The Corrosion Zone, HeadworX, 2011
Reproduced with permission.
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About The Poem:
I shall return to the poems themed around war, but I felt it was time for a break — but there is a connection since Barbara Strang’s poem For a Song was one of the first I featured in the war poetry series.
Old Pet is drawn from the same collection, The Corrosion Zone, and has always been one of my favourites. At one level it is straightforward — but that fabulous final line punches home every time. For me, this poem captures life’s transience and pathos, especially around ageing, but its power comes from its restraint — the recitation of facts about “Molly”, spare and precise, and then that final coupling of “she and I”, before the final line delivers the emotional weight of the poem.
I am very pleased that Barbara has allowed me to share it with you today.
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About The Poet:
Barbara was born in Invercargill. She is a published and award-winning poet and haikuist. She has had two well-received collections of her poetry published. The first, Duck Weather (Poets Group) appeared in 2005, and The Corrosion Zone (HeadworX) in 2011. She is the leader of Airing Cupboard Women Poets and editor for Sudden Valley Press. She edited the NZ Poetry Society’s 2009 and 2010 anthologies. The various awards she has won include the Aoraki Festival Contest, 1998, the NZ Poetry Society’s International Haiku Competition, 1997 and 2003, and the Takahe Cultural Studies Competition 2002. Barbara has an MA in Creative Writing from Victoria University, and she lives at McCormacks Bay, Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Excellent poem, Helen. What more can I say? You’ve already put it beautifully in your comments about Barbara’s poem.
Am glad you enjoyed it as much as I always do, Andrew.:)