Tuesday, November 11, 2025

The House of the Rising Sun By Doug Holder


Whenever my cat hears me play

"The House of the Rising Sun" by Dylan

He jumps on my lap,

Rattling my whiskey

As if he senses something....

Some mysterious scent

A feline totem...



He was once

An abandoned

Feral cat

His father was a rambling man

as he wags his tail

As if the music and the words

Were a mantra,

A dirge

That brings him

Back to that winter,

the starving fields of Kentucky

Where he almost succumbed ---

His House of the Rising Sun--


Which has been

The ruin of many

A young cat...


And thank God

He wasn't one.






Doug Holder is on the board of the New England Poetry Club and teaches creative writing at Endicott College. His latest poetry collection is " I ain't gonna wait for Godot, no more" ( Wilderness House Press)


Co-President of the New England Poetry Club
Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene   http://dougholder.blogspot.com

Ibbetson Street Press  http://www.ibbetsonpress.com

Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer  http://www.poettopoetwritertowriter.blogspot.com

Doug Holder CV http://www.dougholderresume.blogspot.com

Doug Holder's Columns in The Somerville Times

https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/?s=%22Doug+Holder%22&x=0&y=0
Doug Holder's collection at the Internet Archive   https://archive.org/details/@dougholder




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