Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Hello and happy Thursday to all! How about we get right into Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge?

Our host always offers us a photo prompt to guide our poetic endeavors. This week's prompt is this intriguing image here:

This was one of those cases when I saw an image, had a sudden albeit tenuous idea for a poem, and just started writing. In such cases, I don't always know where I'm going with the poem. I have a vague idea, but I just sort of fly by the seat of my pants and see what ends up on the page. If you'd like to see where that led me this week, feel free to read the weird and wacky poem below.

Miss Brimble's Bookshop

Stella's car broke down in the middle of the road.

She was surrounded by nothing and had nowhere to go.

She was on a road trip and now found herself in a dead zone,

And all her attempts to call for help simply did not work, no.

With a sigh, Stella looked down the road this way and that.

The sun beat down and she adjusted her hat.

Stella knew she had just left behind a big bunch of nothing,

And so she headed in the other direction in search of something.

Stella walked miles, and then more miles, and then a few more.

She thought fatigue might drag her to the ground with a snore.

Finally, though, something could be seen up ahead.

It was a building built of brick that was a ruddy red.

A few more steps revealed more than just that one brick building.

Stella was actually approaching a town, albeit one not seemingly thrilling.

The quaint little place seemed to offer only a handful of businesses,

Along with only a few houses that someone could visit.

Stella puffed for breath after walking all those miles.

Nonetheless, finally reaching civilization made her smile.

She knocked on the door of the first brick building.

If someone was inside to answer the door, they weren't willing.

The buildings were truly quaint as could be.

They gave Stella vibes of absolute eccentricity.

She didn't really mind that, though.

She really just wanted to get her car running and go.

After trying and failing to find a single person who might be able to help her,

Stella suddenly caught sight of a little something with a tail and fur.

It was a black cat who mewed, twirled, and hopped.

It stood in front of a building with a sign that read, MISS BRIMBLE'S BOOKSHOP.

"Do you know anyone who can help me?" Stella asked the cat.

She was really quite desperate now, and that was a fact.

As if in answer to Stella's question, the cat headed toward the bookshop.

It looked over its shoulder and meowed at Stella as it did trot.

With no other options, Stella followed the feline.

As she approached the bookshop, she found it quite divine.

On the sign above the canopy rested giant statues of books.

The front doors were nestled in another tome with an inviting look. 

Inside, the smell of book pages met Stella's nose.

As a happy reader, on her face a smile quickly arose.
Remembering her mission, Stella did loudly say,
"Hello? Is there anyone here who can help me today?"

A shuffling could be heard somewhere quite nearby,
And then in front of Stella stood a strangely-dressed woman who said, "Hi!"
"Oh, hello," replied a startled Stella.
The other woman looked to the cat and said, "Did you bring me a friend, Bella?"

The woman, who wore a dizzying floral dress and clacking shoes, said,
"My goodness, dear, you look like you could use somewhere to rest your head.
Oh, but how rude of me to not introduce myself.
I'm Miss Brimble, and I own this shop and the books on the shelves."

Stella forced a smile onto her tired face, but it quickly fell.
She told Miss Brimble, "I don't want to impose, but I need some help.
My car left me stranded some miles down the road.
I think I need some help getting it towed."

Stella added, "I tried calling for help myself, but this place is a dead zone."
Miss Brimble chuckled and said, "Around here, you can't use just any old phone.

It's no surprise your attempts were to no avail,
So let me use our tried and true communication that never fails."

Stella thanked the kind woman for that,
And then Miss Brimble disappeared to the back.

Stella began perusing books on shelves and more shelves.

Bella the black cat jumped onto on a table beside her, as if to offer help.

Stella thought it strange that the books were lined up behind great big chains,

But she was happy to be surrounded by the pages and their tales just the same.

As she smiled and pulled from the shelf a tempting read,

She thought this wasn't such a terrible place to be.

She did have to lift the book over that strange, inexplicable chain,

But at least this book promised a tale far from plain.

Then, though, something went amiss.
Was the world twisting that way and this?

The floor at her feet began to jump and jolt.

Had the bookshop just been hit by a lightning bolt?

Stella realized it wasn't even storming outside.

Besides, now the bookshop was swinging from side to side.

She grabbed onto a nearby table,

And she realized bolts and chains on its legs kept it stable.

Is this why the chains were here, there, and everywhere?

Tables, chairs, and books barely moved even an inch or a hair.

Bella the cat, in truth, did not seem bothered.

She walked around the shop with barely an unbalanced totter.

"What is going on?" Stella, swaying, did ask.

Miss Brimble reappeared, saying, "Oh, don't mind all that."

The jolting and thrashing of the bookshop finally stopped,

And it settled back down with a few hiccups and pops.

Miss Brimble said, "Some of the buildings here have minds of their own.

Here at my bookshop, things are rarely ever boring, still, or slow.

No matter, though. Help is on the way for your car.

I can give you a ride so that you don't have to walk that far."

Still in shock at the prior event,

Stella could not help but ramble and vent.

After all the confused, bumbled words left Stella's mouth,

Miss Brimble laughed and chuckled all about.

Miss Brimble said with a smile, "You have some time before help arrives for your car,

And I think you'd find the rest of this little town just as wonderfully bizarre."

Then she added, "You think what happened here was something else, eh?

Well then, next you should go down the road and visit the Cartwheel Cafe."

***

We don't just rhyme on Thursdays, but we also use it as a day of gratitude. It is, after all, the day of Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

As always, Thimble is here to express her thanks on this Thursday. Today, Thimble is grateful for open windows, cat trees, and parental supervision.

That there photo is certainly nothing high quality, but it does somewhat illustrate Thimble and Eddy's relationship. Thimble and Eddy don't get along all that well, and Thimble often keeps an untrusting, watchful eye on Eddy. If I'm being honest, these two girls used to get along just fine. They were actually friends in the past. A couple years ago, though, Thimble spent the day at the vet for some diagnostic tests, and when she got home that night, Eddy had a major case of nonrecognition aggression. Eddy eventually got over the bulk of her nonrecognition aggression, but ever since then, Eddy regularly harasses Thimble. What keeps Eddy from picking on Thimble is when she has a distraction (window whiffies is one of her favorites), when she can be near Thimble without being too near her, and when I'm in the room to tell Eddy to be nice to her sister. And so, Thimble is grateful for all the things that make it possible to be near Eddy without having to defend herself or run away.

***

Last but least, we have the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. June is a good month to _________.

2. I love to play _________.

3. I'm not ashamed to admit _________.

4. I'd rather not _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Tip of the Day

Cats, especially those in multicat homes, need sufficient options for personal space. What's more, cats especially enjoy having the option to use vertical spaces. In the wild, cats often utilize trees and other vertical surfaces for surveying the area, hiding, lounging, and so on. Domesticated cats also instinctively enjoy and use vertical spaces in a similar manner. So, do your best to offer furniture and other features of your house that allow your cat to use vertical spaces. Cat trees, pet-friendly shelves, and other strategically and safely placed furniture are all great options for offering cats vertical surfaces for personal space and time to themselves. In multicat houses, especially ones in which not all the cats get along perfectly, having enough options for vertical spaces and other hiding places can reduce tension and stress amongst the cats.