A Cat To The Rescue: Lucinda Saves The Day

Hello, wonderful readers — It’s Lucinda the literate cat. My CCL has had her share of problems this week. The weather got so bad she could not go to Juneau. In fact, for a time she had trouble getting out her door. In such instances, a cat to the rescue can save the day.

Tomorrow, CCL has to go again to Juneau to get her teeth cared for. I’m so glad she doesn’t send me to the dentist! Because she’s had so much snow to deal with, she has not done anything with her website. Today, I am taking charge, and I hope you like how I’ve solved this dilemma.

This post offers you a smattering of famous poems about cats. Oh, yes, we present such a good subject for a poet to expound upon! Here I have chosen for you some samples that I like. I hope you enjoy them as well. These selections come from a book called “Felines: Great Poets on Notorious Cats.” The book includes fine linocuts by Martha Paulos.

This first one comes from the pen and imagination of John Ciardi, and is called, “My Cat, Mrs. Lick-a-chin. May you find it to express some of your observations about cats.

“Some of the cats I know about
Spend a little time in and a lot of time out
Or a ot of time out and a little time in
By my cat, Mrs. Lick-a-chin.
Never knows where she wants to be.
If I let her in she looks at me
And begins to sing that she wants to go out.
So I open the door and she looks about
And begins to sing, ‘Please let me in’

Poor silly Mrs. Lick-a-chin!

The thing about cats as you might find,
Is that no one knows what they have in mind.

And I’ll tell you something about that:
No one knows it less than my cat.”

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This next one is by Emily Dickinson, one of my CCL’s favorite poets. Emily couldn’t decide what this poem should be called, so she calls it “Untitled.”

She sights a bird, she chuckles,
She flattens, then she crawls.
She runs without the look of feet.
Her eyes increase to balls.

Her jaws stir, twitching, hungry,
Her teeth can hardly stand.
She leaps — but robin leaps the first!
Ah, pussy of the sand.

The hopes so juicy ripening,
You almost bathed your tongue
When bliss dissolved a hundred wings
And fled with every one!

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Here’s one by Christopher Morley. CCL says she finds it interesting that this poet speaks of a cat who dines on asparagus. CCL’s mother had just such a cat. She says the cat could smell asparagus cooking and would come and petition loudly until given a portion. This one’s called:

In Honor of Taffy Topaz

Taffy, the topaz-colored cat,
Thinks now of this and now of that,
But chiefly of his meals.
Asparagus, and cream, and fish,
Are objects of his Freudian wish;
What you don’t give, he steals.

His gallant heart is strongly stirred
By the clink of plate or flight of bird,
He has a plumy tail;
At night he treads on stealthy pad
As merry as Sir Galahad
A-seeking of the Grail.

His amiable amber eyes
Are very friendly, very wise;
Like Buddha, grave and fat,
He sits, regardless of applause,
And thinking, as he kneads his paws,
What fun to be a cat!

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Well, I do agree with that last line. I find it quite amusing to be a cat. I would not want to be a two-legged, as your lives seem so confusing. I like to keep things simple, so am glad to exist in feline form.
Here’s one last poem, this one written by Paul Gallico, and, oh, how I agree with his sentiments! Think about this concept, you two-leggeds, and hopefully find yourself in agreement. This one goes by the title of “This Is My Chair.”

This is my chair,
Go away and sit somewhere else,
This one is all my own.
It is the only thing in your house that I possess
And insist upon possessing.
Everything else therein is yours.
My dish,
My toys,
My basket,
My scratching post and my Ping-Pong ball.
You provided them for me.
This chair I selected for myself.
I like it.
It suits me.
You have the sofa,
The stuffed chair
And the footstool.
I don’t go and sit on them, do I?
Then why cannot you leave me mine,
And let us have no further argument.

There you have it, wonderful cat people. I hope you have enjoyed my selections. Next week with luck my CCL will return with another of her original essays. In the meantime, do enjoy your cat!