Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

 Welcome to Thursday! Are you ready for Angel Sammy's Thoroughy Poetic Thursday challenge?

As always, our host shared a photo prompt to guide our poetic endeavors.

I'm personally not much of a beach person, but I obviously wanted to do something at least sort of beachy to go with this photo. I mentioned this prompt to my sister, and she immediately had an idea. I don't know why I didn't think of this idea myself, because it relates to my boy Evan.

For those who don't know, my orange tabby Evan is hind limb paralyzed. Because of this, he and his back legs sometimes sit in some very interesting poses. Just one of the ways he sits that I find adorable is when he climbs onto something like a couch or stool and then dangles his paralyzed little legs in front of him off of the piece of furniture. When Evan sits like this, it always reminds me of those artsy images you see of mermaids sitting in a similar manner on rocks, or something along these lines. My sister has also said that Evan reminds her of a mermaid when he's in that pose, and so she told me that I should use that concept to go with the above photo prompt. I totally agreed.

The Mercat

Joe and Jean visited the beach each and every year.
The ocean air and the sand at their feet made them smile from ear to ear.
Walks on the beach were their most favorite thing.
They strolled and collected seashells from morning to evening.

This year's beach trip proved as relaxing as ever.
It also offered an experience they would always remember.
It all occurred one fine afternoon beneath a bright blue sky,
When the sand was warm and the tide grew high.

Seashells and starfish made the beach a magical place.
Joe and Jean collected the shells in a friendly little race.
Such an activity added an extra bit of fun to their beach vacation,
Adding yet another layer of enjoyment to that sunny, sandy haven.

On the fine afternoon in question, Joe spotted a seashell pretty and pink,
And so he picked it up before it could wash away and sink.
When he stood and looked back up, he gasped.
He pointed to the ocean and said, "Jean, would you look at that!"

Joe and Jean watched and smiled as a dolphin swam in the ocean,
Jumping and playing in happy dolphin motions.
Then there was yet another gasp.
This time Jean pointed and said, "Goodness me, what is that?"

Joe and Jean squinted to see a rock just off the shore.
On that rock sat something that left them with questions numbering a dozen or more.
Were they really seeing what they thought they were seeing?
If so, it was barely believable enough for believing.

On that rock sat a creature with pointed ears and whiskers on a face orange and furry,
And beneath that were scales and fins on a tail splishing and splashing in a manner quite blurry.
The perplexing creature seemed to return their gaze,
And then it did seem to give them a wave.

Jean said, "Really, truly, what on earth is that?"
The creature took it upon itself to shout, "I'm a mercat, that's what's that.
You haven't heard about my kind in ancient lore or fun tales?
Us mercat are indeed out here swimming with the dolphins and whales."

Joe and Jean's mouths hung open in shock.
The mercat waved again, shrugged, and then dove off of its rock.
The couple visited the beach each remaining day of their trip,
In no small part to see if they again saw that creature amongst the tides and ships.

Every single day, Joe and Jean did indeed spot that strange entity.
Each time, the furry and finned thing greeted them by shouting and waving.
Joe and Jean had never before heard or seen a so-called mercat,
But after that beach stay, they always remembered it just like that.

***

Now, of course, it's times for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop. 

As always, Thimble is here to express some gratitude.

Today, Thimble is indeed thankful for sunrays, her adorable tabby stripes, and her adorably large ears. She is not as grateful, though, for photobombs from her brother Evan's ear.

Siblings, huh?

***

Last but not least, let's share 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. To _________ or not to _________? is a question I ask myself.

2. I wish _________ would _________.

3. I'm on the fence about _________.

4. If you don't _________, you won't _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Did you know?

I did some research to see if there is any folklore on mermaid cats, or mercats, as in our poem for today. I didn't find much on that subject matter, but my research did bring me to the Cat Sìth. Have you ever heard of the Cat Sìth? In folklore, the Cat Sìth is a feline figure who haunts the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as a big black cat with a white spot on its chest, and it is said to steal souls. According to some of the folklore, the Cat Sìth is something along the lines of a witch who can turn into a black cat. This transformation can occur 9 times in the witch's life, with the ninth transformation into a cat being permanent. What's more, the Cat Sìth has a canine counterpart called the Cù Sìth.