Nekomata Cats

Nekomata Cats 

When kittens,
They do not know their meows
  Resonate like a baby’s cry,

Yet they learn

In time they do acquire great skill,
Though too often rhyming
  Fish with dish

See,
These three cats write magic poems,
You’ve read their work,
  Time you knew of ’em

One researches things profound,
History and mysteries,
  In old volumes bound

One plucks songs from shamisen strings,
Parsing meter, rhythms,
  Rhyming things

The third sets down these characters,
Distilling people
  Into words

Though Nekomata write of men,
They dictate we bring fish,
  And when

You wonder, why need you know this?
  Well,
It’s supper-time,
  And here’s their dish

Ever you wonder, who owns who?
  ‘Meow,’
Once read this poem, their spells
   On you