Analysis of Cat Sestina



1. Feline
2. Pink Toes
3. Whiskers
4. Agility
5. Grace
6. Purr

Nothing speaks as softly as a feline
Or pitter patters about on soft pink toes
Through the smallest cracks, they fit with whiskers
Bodies as pliable as rubber with much more agility
Movement choreographed with the utmost grace
The engine on a cat sibilant with the warmth of a purr.

Listen to their secrets always spoken with a purr
They are the epitome of all that is feline
Their movements all dancer with shades of grace
And feminine walking on hearts with their small toes
Nothing gained from a fall, no loss of agility
Small furry face with a smile and halo of whiskers

Into the smallest crack in a broken heart, it can whisker
Into the darkest night the longing of a delighted purr
Downside, upside, bottoms up, it is forever agile
That is the sublime & oft mysterious way of the feline
Tiptoeing through the world on its jellybean toes
With a belying of under nuanced and understated grace

Watch me prance with catnip watch me frolic with grace
Through a tumbler of milk as a drip caught on whisker
Falls through the air to settle beside my pink toes
I respond with love, and a heartfelt vibratory purr
This is my way, and know thee that it is just how I feline
My love, my life, my being as strong as it is agile

A sneaky attack comes from out of a dark agility
From under the sofa, I bite your ankles with shocking grace
Some call me cat, kitten, or more but I am all this and feline
I stop to groom, paying great care to my majestic whiskers
My motor is running, the air around me filled by my soft purr
Next I clean the soft pink tender paw pads on the bottoms of my toes

Watch me stomp, watch me romp, see the bits of jellybean noted as my pink toes
This is why I am loved, and formerly worshipped for this form of astounding agility
I pounce through each day my voice is none other than my own susurrate purr
I found my way into your home into your heart with none other than grace
I found my way into your shelters with the bait attached to my whiskers
I am love, I am life, I am all that happiness you want because I am feline.  

If you want to know why I am loved, know me as feline
With my whiskers that heal and my jellybean toes
my soft sweet purr denoting all my grace and agility.


Scheme ABCDEF ABCDEF FAEBDC FFGABE EFBFAG DEACFB BDFECA ABD
Poetic Form
Metre 1 11 10 0100 1 1 101110101 111011111 1010111110 1011001101110100 101001011 0101011101101 101110110101 110010011111 1101101111 010010111111 1011011110100 1101101010110 010101001011110 010101010100101 1111011101010 11001101001101 101011111 100101101001001 111110111011 1010111011110 110111001111 1011100111 11110111111111 11111101111110 010011111010100 110010111101101 111110111111101 111110111101010 1101100101111111 11101110111010111 11111110111101111 11111101001011110100100 1111111111011111 111101110111111011 111101110101011110 11111111111001101111 1111111111111 1110110111 111101011100100
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 2,288
Words 461
Sentences 10
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3
Lines Amount 45
Letters per line (avg) 40
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 224
Words per stanza (avg) 54

About this poem

This is a sestina that I wrote for an English composition class. It differs greatly from my typical poetry, and it hasn't been edited at all. I am proud of this considering it is a sestina, and I wrote it in 45 minutes. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did while writing it.

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Written on November 30, 2016

Submitted by Axolotl1 on December 26, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:18 min read
23

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    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Sestina is made up of how many lines?
    A 6
    B 36
    C 28
    D 39