“Can I have a little kitty?” I asked my dad one day.
My mother put me up to it; she knew what he would say.
When I had first asked her, she said, “You need to ask your dad.”
The thought of having NO kitten made me rather sad –
So in my simple six-year-old heart, I began to pray.
When I first saw those kittens, much to my dismay,
The lady said to ask my mom and I knew I must obey
So I asked my mom with every ounce of sweetness that I had —
Can I have a little kitty?
My father loved to tell this tale. I can hear him now portray
How this funny freckled blonde-haired girl stole his heart away
With such a simple question — and he would often add
“How could I say no to that?” Yes, he would be a cad
To deny his own dear daughter the joy that came with one “Okay”
Can I have a little kitty?
The cat’s name was Ichibon. We lived on an army base at the time, and the family with the kittens had recently returned from a stint in Japan. Ichibon means #1 in Japanese, and she was allegedly the first kitten born in the litter.
Ichibon was first in a long long string of cats in my life. Today, I have an obese cat who doesn’t understand that he’s supposed to be a working cat and taking care of the mice in this house — but that’s probably a poem for another day.
This is response to the W3 prompt this week:
Write a rondeau inspired by a childhood memory
- 15 lines long;
- Three stanzas:
- a quintet (five-line stanza);
- a quatrain (four-line stanza);
- and a sestet (six-line stanza);
- Rhyme scheme: aabba aabR aabbaR.
- Refrain: L9 and L15
- The refrain (R) is short;
- The refrain (R) consists of a phrase taken from L1;
- All the other lines are longer than R and share the same metrical length.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
Ommigosh, Sally! This is too cute!
Awwwwww!
🙂
David
This great ….I think the style is very convalooted and I think we have really made a good fist of it 💜 💜💜💜
wonderful story, full of smiles (K)
Aww what a cute story. I’m glad you got to have the little kitten. 🙂
Cute
Sally this is adorable! My parents always had cats so I grew up never having to ask for one!!
What a wonderful poem, Sally ❤️ 🐈 I enjoyed reading this very much.
What a cute story! I would have had a tough time saying “no”, too. 😁
Hi, Sally ❤
Just wanna let you know that this week's W3, hosted by the wonderful and creative Michelle Navajas, is now live:
Enjoy!
~David
Excellent poem. Thank you
Hi, Sally!
Just wanna let you know that this week’s W3, hosted by the amazing Selma Martin, is now live:
Enjoy❣️
Sincerely,
David
What a sweet poem and memory 💞💞💞