Ninette Freed
2011 California Honor Scroll Award

Ninette Freed, 75, Palm Desert, is a longtime participant in Senior Poets Laureate competitions. She won recognition in 2007 with her poem entitled “La Palma” which won an Honor Scroll for California. Ninette, a former secretary, student at UCLA, is now a literary housewife who writes mainly poetry. She loves her child, her grandson, and her cat, the topic her this year’s award-winning poem. Her sun sign is Cancer.

CARESSING MY TIGER

Her almond-shaped green eyes regard me
quizzically as she sits on top of the couch.
My tiger-striped kitty looks from under
flickering eye-slits and falls asleep, content.
But the wild tiger is there ready to pounce,
her play-bites attest to sharp teeth.

Awake, she jumps off and saunters into the
kitchen, to assure that her bowl is in place.
Tail held high like a banner, she claims
the house her territory. How long has she
been out of the jungle?

Cats have bonded with humans for thousands
of years. Sleek and mysterious, they were
believed to be emissaries of divination
and oracles to the ancient gods.

Wild, yet domesticated, cats love to play,
have their soft fur stroked and purr when
happy. Does the tiger purr while its mate
caresses it?