For though he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.
Jubilate Agno, Fragment B, [For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry]
Christopher Smart – 1722-1771
Cat, I adore you for very little reason.
You twine round my calves when mood strikes,
clamber up a diagonally placed plank,
(with little grace, but you make it every time).
Cat, you are black with white tie, white bits
on your paws. Lying in a splash of sunshine. Watching
you soothes me, gait neat and liquid, barely made jump
to the top of the fence, your fluffy presence,
trying to trip me in the kitchen with excess of joy
For all your affection, you look mildly suspicious
Or perpetually surprised.
You hardly speak, but make your meaning known,
You jump on my door handle when you want company.
Some days I pass by an empty room and you
lift your head from a curled up bundle of body-fur
gazing at me calmly, warm, sleepy. Cat,
your happiness is contagious. I breathe in when you purr,
breathe out when you lean into my hands.
I like how much music you make, noisy
for a creature of tiptoes. Sometimes
you catch my hand in your paws and bite gently,
cat, maybe this is home. Or
as home as London gets for me.
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