To the Persian Cat . . . Make Much of Time
Caught in the August moonlight spangling the porch
My elder feline brings to mind that line
Of Byron’s: walk like the night or choose to perch
In imitation of the jays you find
Fearing you from afar, though absent cause
No claws, few teeth left, cauliflower ears.
Bird’s fate at neighbor’s paws might lend you pause
To recollect (instinctively) young years
Of prowling, heats that prompted yowling,
Naps under cars or on sunny grass,
Siestas savored like sips of milk, darling
Soft, purring version of an hourglass.
Lovely in these last days as yourself,
Soon into the night’s beauty to slip off.
–Ethan Lewis
Local poets were writing about contemporary events in the Sangamo Journal as early as the 1830s. People’s Poetry wants you to share your thoughts on what’s happening in Springfield today–in poetic form. Poems on any subject will be considered, but ones that deal with issues of local interest are encouraged. Send yours to poetry editor Lee Gurga,.P.O. Box 662, Lincoln, IL 62656, or to gurga@ccaonline.com with “Bards of the Sangamo” in the subject line. (Please limit your submissions to poems of 14 lines or less.)
This article appears in May 1-7, 2003.
