Here's the thing. I like the Psalms. I like to write psalms. I find that writing my own psalm about God is prayer--my most focused prayer. However, I need a poem for my writer's group and a poem about God wouldn't be acceptable.
So I wrote a psalm about my cat. I used the same literary form as Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit in company with scoffers.
...
See how synonymous ideas are expressed, line after line, yet the original theme is developed. You get the idea? Well, here's my secular psalm:
Lucky is the cat who lives in my house
in the bosom of my loving family,
in the warmth of a fireplace,
or an air-conditioned, sunny room.
Rather than the stray who thinks he is free
and though he may go here and there,
he will never choose to enter human embrace
nor feel a gentle pat on the head
nor the stroke of a caressing hand
nor the kiss of a child--or anyone.
Do Stray Cats Purr?
