In time for Halloween, a spooky poem I wrote a few years ago that tells the tale of a fisherman and his rather peculiar cat.

William Gordon Williams was a goodly man,

so far as any ever knew.

An honest man, by all accounts,

well liked around the town.

William Gordon Williams was a fisher,

and made his living on the ocean blue.

William Gordon Williams always sailed alone,

Alone, that is, save for his cat.

A scrawny thing, with fur all black,

with eyes the same black hue.

When William Gordon Williams set to sail,

upon the bow of his ship the thing sat.

William Gordon Williams was a working man.

The hardest worker on the sea.

He hauled in more than twenty men.

And none could question that.

Each night his haul weighed down his ship so much

other fishers questioned how it could be.

William Gordon Williams was a giving man,

who shared with those he called friend.

But often times contempt is bred

by generosity.

Resentment oft brews in the hearts of men.

And so some thought to bring about his end.

William Gordon Williams set sail with his cat.

His enemies not far behind.

As they approached with evil thoughts

their nerve began to bend.

The black cat suddenly jumped off the boat

Soon, to the truth, they were no longer blind.

William Gordon Williams remained sure and calm

as the seas boiled around their boat.

The skies grew dark. The ocean rocked.

The crew was in a bind.

The cat jumped into their boat and transformed

into a cross between a man and goat.

“William Gordon Williams and I have a deal,”

the creature explained to the klatch.

As scared sailors jumped overboard,

it continued to gloat.

“Did not you ever wonder why it was

William Gordon Williams called me ‘Old Scratch?’”