Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Happy Thursday! It's a happy day indeed, because we get to do some rhyming. It is, after all, time for Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

Every week, our hosts share with us a photo prompt to help get our creative juices flowing. The image for this week is this one here:

I don't really have much of an explanation for my poem this week. I don't necessarily know how I ended up in the situation I did in my poem, but I guess it is what it is. So, if you're into weird, wacky, random rhymes, feel free to read on.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

It was a dark and stormy night,

Which is a total cliché, but that's all right.

On that night of thundering horror,

Laura was babysitting the little boy next door.

After the little boy was asleep in his bed,

Laura reclined on the couch to rest her head.

She clicked on the television and settled in,

Hoping to find a comedy to make her laugh or grin.

Before Laura could even watch a single movie scene,

Across the room the phone began to ring.

With a sigh and a groan Laura stood from the couch,

Her tired back inflicted with a bit of a slouch.

The phone rang ring! ring! ring! until she picked it up.

She answered it with a slightly annoyed, "Yup?"

Alas, though, there was no voice at the other end of the line,

So Laura hung up and let out another sigh.

She returned to the couch and continued watching her movie,
The stormy night making even a comedy film spooky.
Laura could barely hear the movie over the thunder booms.
What she could hear was the phone yet again ringing on the other side of the room.

Laura may or may not have cursed.
A ringing phone was the worst of the worst.
Laura picked up the ring! ring! ringing! phone with a brusque, "Hello?"
The only response was breathing, quiet and low.
"What do you want?" Laura snapped into the phone.
With no response, Laura slammed the phone down with a groan.

Back onto the couch she yet again settled.
She was really starting to feel unnerved and disheveled.
What didn't help the matter was that the phone rang ring! ring! ring! yet again.
Laura rose from the couch, muttering something quite profane.

"What?" Laura practically shouted into the phone.
She heard in another room the house a clock's ominous tone.
She indeed heard the chimes in her own two ears,
But she also heard something that sparked a bit of fear.
The sound of the clock could also be heard on the other end of the phone line.
Did that mean the person calling was somewhere inside?

Laura slammed the phone down.
On her face was nothing short of a frown.
She thought to check on the little boy under her care.
He was sound asleep and not even of the storm was he aware.

Laura stood frozen like a statue in place,
Her heart competing in some sort of race.
After all, the phone was now ringing again.
This time, Laura headed to the den.
That was where the chiming clock could be found.
Was the caller on the phone inside the room with that sound?

Tiptoeing, Laura approached the den's door.
She hoped to find no one, and nothing more.
Peering into the barely lit room,
She saw the culprit standing in the gloom.

On a table in the den there was a phone,
And from it sounded a distant, low tone.
Beside that phone, off its hook, sat a cat.
It sat like a shadow, sleek and black.
It slapped the phone this way and that,
Just like, well, any ol' cat.

Laura was not sure whether to laugh or cry,
When she discovered that simple reason as to why.
She had somehow forgotten this nice family adopted a black cat.
She knew all about him, and his name was Mack.

***

Can anyone guess what Thimble is thankful for on this Thankful Thursday?

Sun puddles! We've been having us plenty of sun lately, and Thimble is certainly not complaining. She never forgets to sunbathe that tummy of hers.

All of us here are indeed grateful for the sunny days we've been having, as well as for friends like all of you.

***

Now, are you ready to prepare for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge? Below are the fill-statements. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. I _________ on Memorial Day.

2. I try to avoid __________.

3. If I had a catchphrase, it would be _________.

4. _________ motivates me to work hard.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Did you know?

Did you know that cats purr at a rate of 26 cycles per second? To put this in perspective, this is roughly the same frequency as an idling diesel engine. Purring is the result of movement of the muscles of the larynx, as well as the diaphragm. These muscles can move roughly 26 times per second, hence the act of purring at a rate of 26 cycles per second.