Young Writers Society

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[b]What are your overall first impressions and interpretations on the piece? [/b]
[b]Did this poem affect you in any way?[/b]
[b]Why do you think the author chose the name Sigourney?[/b]
[b]What effect does "toe beans fettering" have on you?[/b]
[b]What are the strongest lines? Why?[/b]
[b]What lines made you pause/ or what lines didn't work for you and why?[/b]
[b]What did you all think of the ending? [/b]
[b]How do we feel about 'saliva' ?[/b]
[b]Anything else that stood out for you?[/b]

What are your interpretations

penguinattack wrote: I think this is literally a poem about finding a cat, with a brief humorous interlude in the final lines.

Niteowl wrote: There seems to be some other meaning, like the stuff about going home. The cat doesn't have a home and the speaker doesn't want to go home, so they're like partners in homelessness.

Nikayla wrote:
I enjoyed the simplicity of the poem and that's where it succeeds because it's about such a simple thing with imagery that puts more depth into the poem.

Did this poem affect you in any way?

penguinattack wrote: I didn't like the poem. I'm not into it mostly because the lines are too short to carry it off smoothly. And while I like the feel of short lines, the length of the poem then negates any of the good things that are being done by the short lines.

Niteowl wrote: I thought the end was funny. It also made me think of journeys and wandering and homelessness (voluntary for speaker/involuntary for cat)

Audy wrote:
I like how that theme does seem to tie in with the way the poem is formatted, the poem does wander as you read it.

Nikayla wrote:
It was a cute poem for me and something different from the usual writing of the author. I didn't really find much more about it and it more told a story that was literal rather than being something more metaphorical.

Why do we think the author chose the name Sigourney?

penguinattack wrote: I assumed because of Sigourney Weaver and some connection to Alien - the cat ripping from the bag, the sense of invasion/theft.

Niteowl wrote: I'm in agreement (with Penguin) with this probable association but I looked up the name meaning just 'cause and it turns out Sigourney Weaver adopted it from a minor character in "The Great Gatsby". Probably has nothing to do with the poem, but there's a fun fact for you.

Nikayla wrote:It could be the actor Sigourney Weaver and it could be a subtle reference to Alien like Penguin suggested, but really I just thought that it was a name choice that kind of fit the poem.

fortis wrote:
I think that's literally what he named the cat, and he didn't bother to choose any name with symbolism, because who needs that noise? When I wrote a poem about my gecko, I just called it the name of my gecko.

What effect does "toe beans fettering" have on you?

penguinattack wrote: It means nothing to me as an image. I googled it and toe beans apparently are the little cat feet pads.

Niteowl wrote: Toe beans does make me think of cat pads. I have no idea what "fettering" means off the top of my head. The idea of "toe beans" kind of also makes me think the cat was declawed, implying some past domestication. Beans don't have claws,

penguinattack wrote: 'fettering' actually means to restrict. I know it mostly from a line in Heaney's poetry, and it means to be restrained, usually around the ankle. I don't think 'fettering" is really good grammar?

Niteowl wrote: I agree that it doesn't seem to fit in this poem. Like what's restricting the paws?

penguinattack wrote:
I think you could probably swap "fettering" for "tethering" for meaning, if it is clearer, and it doesn't work for me. Possibly he meant festering? I got a kind of rotten feel from it.

Audy wrote:
I like toe beans, I think "fettering" is awkward. If it is "fettering" it suggests that the toe beans restrict themselves, doesn't it?

Nikayla wrote:I thought it was awkward as well and toe beans may be the term for it, but the poem itself is quite odd with its choices in itself. I think you could change it to something that has the same effect but flows better.

fortis wrote:
I really like the image because (A) I'm very well acquainted with the slang for little cat toe beans (so cute!!) and (B) the "fettering" part may not be what it literally means in the dictionary. It is very likely used as a sort of onomatopoetic (???) word. Just a word that, no matter what it actually means, sounds like it fits there, and I totally dig that poetic device.

What lines made you pause/ or what lines didn't work for you and why?

penguinattack wrote:
The ending annoys me to no end. [...] They're meant to be funny? Almost satires or jokes or whatever. This poem doesn't need to be, and if it's all a leap up to "catnapping" or if that is a veil then it's annoying.

I adore puns, but this poem isn't for puns, is it? It doesn't slide into farce. We're looking at a drowned cat and a lonley rescuer. The pun doesn't help the poem, it shoves it downward a bit. Please don't take me too seriously, it says, this is just a pun. A joke poem. And I don't want that. I want to take it seriously and delve into it, [but it's ]made it hard to take it seriously.

Audy wrote:
I think the poem gets a very narrative vibe where there may be some superfluous elements and so what it has made me do is it has made me try to surmise why the author intended to leave what he left in there.

For example, from the "6 o'clock sirens" / the wooden fence, the park sidewalk, the have a nice day bags-- there is a lot of imagery that seems to crop up that all point to this very local-esque feel. This is a local community, a cat that is found in this local community, this is the narrator's day-to-day what they are seeing, experiencing, living through, so I think that part of the reason that it is over-long like this maybe because the author wishes to incorporate a lot of local "home/community/neighborhood" elements - the small things people don't really notice but yet the author is noticing them.

I love this aspect of the piece, I just wish the poem had longer lines to allow me the time to contemplate on this, I think with the shorter lines, it makes me rush through it all with little room to smell the roses.

Nikayla wrote:The [have a nice day lines] [...] it was just sort of out of the blue.

What did you all think of the ending?

Audy wrote:I feel when a poem does not take itself seriously, it betrays the sentiments laid throughout the piece, it is the opposite of that expression for art's sake, as it belittles it? Like going about something half-heartedly.

Niteowl wrote:
I agree like I'm a sucker for puns but this one seemed so serious up to that point. Like it makes you wonder if it was all written for the pun or if there is something more to it (like what I was reading about homelessness/wandering).

fortis wrote:
I think the end of it made it seem like a bit like the whole thing was just to lead up to a joke, and I felt like it took away some of the beauty of it, because you aren't supposed to find beauty in a joke. And if you do, it's like someone's making fun of you for thinking it was beautiful art when it was a mere joke. I know this is beautiful art, and I like all of it a lot-- the tone, the pacing, the beautiful images-- and I do appreciate the attempt at a bit of humor, but it just feel jarring and misplaced to me. Everything else flowed really smoothly.


Yeah, it reads a little bit like, 'oh, I'm showing some emotions. gotta cover it up by making a joke" because I think sometimes when we're embarrassed or uncomfortable, we make jokes to hide our awkwardness. This might not be what's going on there, but it reads that way to me. Don't be afraid to make beautiful things with emotions.

Nikayla wrote:
The ending of the poem for me wasn't the strongest and didn't really do all that much to send it all off? Puns easily win me over though so I didn't particularly mind it and I don't think it should really be changed, though I would like more sincerity throughout the poem as I did feel like this could be something more heartfelt.

What are the strongest lines? Why?

penguinattack wrote:The first two lines. [...] you know the first thing I think of with Saltwater is saltwater taffy? I've never had taffy in my life, but that phrase is always in the fore of my mind. [Plus] is sad because that is the image - plus the flash flood, which interests me much more - that sells this poem. The rest of the poem doesn't live up to it.

The only other lines that touch on the good of the first two lines are this "claws breaking through/malleable material./cotton, skin, etc." Which works because it is indifferent, and the indifference gives these lines a tone missing from the rest of the poem. A touching kind of... extension. It says more than the narrative does.

Niteowl wrote: I noticed that the speaker is describing how he does things (e.g. "(fast paced, sloppily),then ushered her out using a combination of strength and saliva." So it implies that the speaker thinks his actions and how he does them are really important.

I [also] liked the contradiction used in phrases like "Carefully, with precision, Sigourney was plopped into a...bag."

Nikayla wrote:
Jumping it at the bottom for this and I'm going to go ahead and say that the start of the poem was probably one of the stronger ones and sets up the narrative without directly giving away that it's a cat with "saltwater princess"

I also enjoyed the part with the Taco Bell drive-thru since I think it contained good imagery as well as that it gave a lot of truth with the cat with the cat clawing into the speaker because of the noise. It's something that's subtle and isn't direct which is something that I enjoyed about the poem

Audy wrote:
Besides the first two lines (loved the shock of finding out that "saltwater princess" referred to a cat of all things! Very ironic to me, loved it. I really liked the "Have A Nice Day!" Did anyone else picture this?

fortis wrote:

I also immediately pictured like a walmart bag. Again, I knew exactly where he was coming from. I think this poem is very cultural in a way, because there are a couple things that make no literal sense, but if you know the culture (american teenager, and someone who likes to wander the streets and the internet both) the images connect with you on a deeper level. It's like someone out there shares a jargon you thought was unique to you. Shares a thought-process.