Poem: Still Life

[debriswoman]

Author: debriswoman
Rating: General
Characters: Holmes, Watson, Hopkins, and four borrowed from thesmallhobbitand okapi1895 ( I hope you don't mind, this poem is for you both)
Word count: 312

Narrator: Mouselet.

Inspired by a Sherlock60 discussion on taxidermy...

Still Life

We froze, just like predators stalking their prey;
Each pose tortured muscle groups, every which way;
A whist game in progress, Jacks low, aces high;
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
My whiskers were tingling, a lingering itch:
My nose seemed determined to wiggle and twitch;
But statues were called for, the rogues were close by
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
The ferret's wrist tendons were feeling the strain;
The deck held aloft in mid deal, it was plain
Each fibre, each blood vessel, stretched to comply;
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
Poor Inky, cards scattered, contracted each quill;
All movements would magnify, hard to keep still;
His pained perseverance, no friend could deny;
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
The ocelot, placing a bet, seemed unfazed;
His tutu unruffled, one paw slightly raised.
But, was that a tear in his unblinking eye?
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
A flurry, a scurry of movement, a chase;
We listened, sound muffled by glass fronted case.
Two shots, several swear words, a valiant cry.
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
Then silence, then rescue; the case opened wide,
With four stiff yet grateful young creatures inside;
A deep simultaneous, shuddering sigh
From the ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
Mr Holmes, my Inspector, and Watson stared hard
At the small chairs and table, each miniature card;
As we stood, stretching limbs to the wonderful sky;
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
Four diamond stuffed corpses revealed their sad role;
A weasel, a civet, a hedgehog, a vole.
We'd taken their places, in order to spy;
The ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~
Two smugglers in prison, a Baker Street feast;
(A moment, heads bowed, for four victims, deceased.)
A toast with raised glasses, a modest reply
From the ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I.
~0~

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

This is entirely glorious.

Thank you so much for writing it. A truly wonderful taxidermy poem.

[debriswoman]

Really pleased you liked it...apologies for borrowing your OCs before asking...aimed at surprise:-p

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

You are entirely welcome to borrow my OCs - all I ask is that they return to me intact (I am very fond of them).

It was a truly lovely surprise - I was thrilled with it.

[debriswoman]

I am fond of them too:-)
Thank you.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

And just to let you know Frankles has added some "regular oc" tags for the gang.

[debriswoman]

Thanks for that:-)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

You've captured Inky to a T. Look at you, back off the injured list and swinging! This is marvelous and I believe small hobbit and I owe you because you've written the case for us...
This is wonderful. I'm very touched with what you've done with Inky. Like hobbit, you are welcome to borrow him anytime.

[debriswoman]

Thank you so much:-)
I usually ask, but did not want to warn ahead...delighted you liked this:-)
Oh...I read your teapot version of the Greek Interpreter...excellent work:-)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

I was surprised. It was very nice. Thank you for kind words about the teapot fic. Frankles has made a lovely AU to write in.

[debriswoman]

My pleasure:-)
Oh, do you mind if I friend you?
I am not very rewarding to friend, as I post very little and retract the little I post from time to time, but I would like to keep track of your posts:-)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Sure. I'll do the same.

As you can tell, I'm a bit of a basketcase and occasionally go on deleting sprees as well. Social media is not for the faint of heart. But there are photos and sometimes amusing ancedotes like today when my son announced that I am to be Black Widow (a superhero who apparently wears a skin-tight catsuit!!) for Halloween. The baby is to be Captain America. And he, Hulk.

[debriswoman]

You will make a lovely trio:-)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Art begets art. Here's your poem in prose form:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/6848800/chapters/17965645

[debriswoman]

That is utterly brilliant:-)
Thank you!

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I have added your author tag, madam ^__^ This is a proud day for the whole comm ^^

Your poem is just perfect - I love it ^^ It's so visual too - I can absolutely see the whole story.

[debriswoman]

Thank you very much
And you are too kind:-)

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Thank you for a delightful read. This poem is just...*fans self* And a fine case, too. The suspense and action are good, too.

[debriswoman]

Thank you very much:-)
Delighted you enjoyed it:-)

[ennui-enigma.livejournal.com]

Delightful! I am feeling rather fond of "the ferret, the ocelot, Inky and I." Mouselet is such a good narrator. The rhythm of the poem is catchy. The repetition quite effective. A very lovely tribute to all!

[debriswoman]

Thank you very much:-)
And I think the quartet are becoming a valuable asset to the detecting process:-p