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RENGATTO

A Rengatto is a nine-link poem using the form 3-2-3, 3-2-3, 3-2-3. The first verse mentions a cat, while the fifth refers to the feline gender without mentioning the word "cat". There are nine links to a Rengatto because a cat is purported to have nine lives. The Rengatto was created by Alexis K. Rotella on the 18 February 1997.

EXAMPLES :

THE FACE OF CHAGALL with Alexis K. Rotella and ai li
A CAT NAMED HOUDINI with Alexis K. Rotella and Marlene Rudginsky
GOLDFISH with Alexis K. Rotella and ai li
YARMULKA by Alexis K. Rotella
TAKE OUT with Fay Aoyagi and Alexis K. Rotella

_{_______________________________________________________________________________________}

THE FACE OF CHAGALL

A Rengatto between Alexis K. Rotella and ai li
Los Gatos, California and London
16 - 18 February 1997

A cat on the fence
with the face
of Chagall

not seeing the tar brush
bride

the smell
of stuffed cabbage
at the Russian hall

peasant scarves
tinged
with blood

In an old woman's hands
pussywillows hand

fraying rope
ties
a cheap coffin

a jar of pickles
passed
over the fence

the weather-beaten profile
remembers Anastassia

The man
with Rasputin eyes
a hynotherapist.

____________________________________________________________________

A CAT NAMED HOUDINI

A Rengatto between Alexis K. Rotella and Marlene Rudginsky
Los Gatos, California and Marietta, Ohio
February and May 1997

Rescued from
a neighbor's roof
a cat named Houdini.

The magician missing
from the tarot deck.

Buried with her
the crone's
elderberry wand.

Under a lily pad
goldfish with
the eye patch.

Waking me
tuna breath.

Pillow talk -
the child and her
plush dolphin.

High tea -
harp music
at the Ritz.

North wind
the bride's winter veil.

A woman walking
her hedgehog -
tourist town.

____________________________________________________________________

GOLDFISH

A Rengatto between Alexis K. Rotella and ai li
Los Gatos, California and London
14 - 15 March 1997

goldfish
swimming
in the cat's eyes

I look for the crack
in the emptied bowl

over the sink
he devours
a pomegranate

the red
of sunset
on pale skin

sumi-e of a siamese
he starts to sneeze

raindrop
on
inkstone

four-leaf clovers
finding
thirteen

odd sock
the colour or ireland

deep
in the back closet
lavender pages

[Published SUNDAY AT FOUR, Spring 1997, Louisiana, USA]

____________________________________________________________________

YARMULKA

A solo Rengatto by Alexis K. Rotella

24 April 1997

Yarmulka
for the kitten -
acorn cap

a little ghost
nibbles candy corn.

yuk yuk
from a crow
high up

He pours out
his heart
stranger on the plane.

a tiny suede nose
nuzzles me good morning

I crawl into
his still warm
pajamas.

morning fog
the feel
of flannel

dreaming of
white birch trees

The phone
rings and rings -
wrong number.

_____________________________________________________________________

TAKE OUT

A Rengatto with Fay Aoyagi and Alexis K. Rotella
San Francisco and Los Gatos, California
22 February - 4 March 1997

Take out
tricolored ice cream
for his cat

Chinese New Year
rainbows

From a sister city
tulip drawings
and origami cranes

On a charm bracelet
a pair
of scissors.

Homeless mama
with 9 lives

At the pond
teenagers leave
their litter.

Ambulance siren
she checks
her son's room

Tooth marks
on the steering wheel

Skipping
a memorial service
bitter tea

[Published Raw NerVZ Volume IV : 2, Summer 1997]

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