Hate That Cat

This section covers Jack’s poems and notes from November 30 through January 8. Jack writes that he hears alliteration everywhere now that he’s been taught what it is. He wonders, as he did earlier with Valerie Worth, if Alfred, Lord Tennyson, author of “The Eagle,” is still alive. He marvels at how Tennyson’s verse allows him to see the eagle in his mind’s eye, and he composes a similar poem about a dog and kitten. Miss Stretchberry brought her cat’s kittens to school, and Jack finds them very amusing, especially the one that falls asleep in his lap.

Jack writes about how his favorite poet, Walter Dean Myers, sent him a postcard, and how shocked he is to learn that Myers has a cat. Jack writes back, asking why Myers likes cats so much and encouraging him to consider getting a dog. Jack writes a poem entitled “The Bad Black Cat,” which explains the origin of his grudge against cats. In the poem, he describes hearing a cat’s “mew mew mew” from up a tree, and so he climbs up to rescue it (46). He expects the cat to be relieved, but instead, it hisses and attacks him, causing him to bleed profusely and miss his bus.