Picture on Picture By Mari Fitzpatrick
It was a nice spring day. Blue skies and a few fluffy clouds bordered the landscape, I'd been editing work all morning and I was in the kitchen on a coffee break. As I put the kettle on, a movement caught my eye and outside in the yard I saw a mouse standing on one side of the rain barrel with a cat facing off on the other side, like in the picture above. Can you imagine the scene in real time. Maybe I arrived late to the show, maybe the cat had chased the mouse there. Who knows! But within a hairsbreadth the fun started.
Zipping around a rain barrel a whirlwind of fur and whiskers. When the mouse ran the cat moved in tandem as if automated. Then the mouse sped around the barrel and the cat chased it. My heart jumped when they both stopped, turned and changed direction again at exactly the same moment. They were invisible to each other? And as the chase continued they ran: around, round and round they went, turning, changing direction, the cat in pursuit, the mouse running for its life. After a few minutes they both stopped, and this time after a momentary pause the mouse ran towards a flower bed. Did it sense something in the air? Was it a scent or a sound that broke the dizzy chase, did it sense a path home.
Tom and Jerry had set down in our backyard. That image of the impressive power couple was enough to block any creative output that I might have brought to the table. Each time I put pen to paper, I was in Disneyland. And I have had one or two unusual animal encounters over the years, not least the one with the goat who used to ramble in our garden each night: I titled that one: Shapeshifter
Shapeshifter
Moonlight fell down through the trees.
It spotted the house set under the stars.
That stood on its own in a buzz of a breeze,
And sung out the night time bars.
The grass was aglitter and the orchard was quiet.
The shed in the corner was locked up tight.
The flowers were asleep after their day time riot,
And the kids were tucked up for the night.
Then a clack clock clack clock rose up from the ground.
It sliced through the quiet airy chill.
And woke up the birds with its loud eerie sound,
And they warbled and screamed fit to kill.
And the sound went around and around and around.
It followed a shadow that walked up the drive,
to the path that surrounded the house.
It walked in a circle just walked all around;
Clacking and clocking a thumping loud sound.
Clack clock clack clock aclackclock fit to chill
Those asleep in the rooms in the house on the hill.
Each night for a week the shapeshifter called,
To ramble and walk in the grounds.
But the dreamers, bar mum, slept through it all,
And they missed out on the sight that was running around:
Of a goat with a can tied onto a rope that fell,
As he walked with a hopping galumph off the ground
I've been writing poetry for about 20 years and I enjoy the process, I read a few how to books over the years, but mostly I just went for it and had a bit of fun, but this time as a means to overcome the 'Disney' mind image. I decided to share the story with the AI and I asked it to describe the action from my text upload. The answer was immediate, it was one word: Pursuit.
So immediately without thinking any further I asked it to write a poem to describe the prose prompt. This is what it gave me back. A perfect description of the scene.
n Pursuit by the Barrel
By the rain barrel, quiet and still,
A mouse senses motion, a soft, sudden thrill.
A cat on the prowl, with hunger in stride,
Both locked in a dance, with no place to hide.
The mouse makes a dash, a flicker of gray,
The cat leaps in silence, no sound to betray.
They circle, they turn, like wind chasing leaves,
In a game that the heart barely believes.
The chase winds tighter, under skies damp and low,
Through grass that still glistens from yesterday’s glow.
The mouse darts for shelter beneath a bloom’s light,
But the cat’s quick and silent a shadow in flight.
In the petals it ends, this breathless ballet,
The hunter and hunted meet at twilight’s decay.
By the rain barrel’s edge, still waters now seep,
As the world carries on, and the garden falls asleep.
2024
I then asked the program to explain its process and it identified the following techniques as key elements. I found it all to be very beneficial to my own planning and I am sharing it here for any of our readers who might find it useful,
The Tools of Tomorrow
Setting the Scene
The first thing I wanted to establish was the mood and setting, which was both serene and tense. The rain barrel and the garden set a quiet, natural backdrop, but the stillness I perceived was interrupted by the cat and mouse, who added a dynamic energy. I introduced this contrast in the first two lines
By the rain barrel, quiet and still,
A mouse senses motion, a soft, sudden thrill
Here, the calm of the yard is contrasted with the subtle awareness between the two creatures, creating anticipation.
Motion and Tension
The heart of the poem revolves around motion. The chase is central, so I focused on describing the cat and mouse's quick, synchronized movements in a way that mirrored the natural flow of the scene. The language needed to reflect speed and precision, yet remain fluid, almost like a dance. This is captured in lines like:
They circle, they turn, like wind chasing leaves,
In a game that the heart barely believes.
The simile with "wind chasing leaves" gives the sense of unpredictability and swift, graceful movement, while "a game" adds an element of play, despite the seriousness of the chase.
Rising Tension
As the poem progresses, the tension between predator and prey builds. I used quick shifts in direction to mimic their movements, creating a sense of suspense. The description tightens as the chase nears its climax:
the chase winds tighter, under skies damp and low,
Through grass that still glistens from yesterday’s glow.
Here, the atmosphere becomes more intimate and focused. The chase is not only physical but also a poetic exploration of nature's balance--life and death, tension and release.
The Climax
The poem reaches its climax when the mouse seeks shelter and is caught. The imagery shifts slightly to reflect this finality, moving from the chase’s fluidity to the decisive moment:
But the cat’s quick and silent-- a shadow in flight.
By using "shadow in flight," I wanted to emphasize the cat’s stealth and efficiency--an inevitable end to the pursuit, like fate catching up.
The Resolution
After the action, the poem closes on a more reflective note. I wanted to return to the stillness of the setting, but now with a subtle change. The calm has returned, but the chase has left its mark.
"By the rain barrel’s edge, still waters now seep,
As the world carries on, and the garden falls asleep.
Synopsis
• Opening:
Introduce the scene and the subtle awareness between cat and mouse
• Middle:
Build the action and tension with vivid movement and imagery.
• Climax:
The cat catches the mouse--short, sharp imagery.
• Resolution:
The scene quiets again, but the memory of the chase lingers.
Techniques:
• Imagery: Using nature-based images (wind, grass, rain) to evoke both calm and motion.
• Similes and Metaphors:
Comparing their chase to natural forces like wind and leaves to create a sense of inevitability and flow.
• Rhythm:
Keeping a consistent meter, where each line mirrors the quick back-and-forth of the chase.
• Tone:
Balancing the poem between tension and tranquility, just like the scene.
I know how to write a poem, but when I saw how the voice flowed; how the type automatically poured from the AI voice into the thread and reset my words into a poem I was impressed. Within a matter of minutes or uploading the story of my micro-moment in time I had a finished product, or one to edit . I know this poem would not exist if I hadn't made the request, painted the picture or asked for help in describing the action. So I became the director on the set.
That's my bit of fancy folks. I will be revisiting the AI's scene-setting-advice as I rework a few of my creations both new and old. Maybe even rework or expand 'In Pursuit by the Barrel' now that I have a start.