...Afraid? ...why, no...but... A silent house where a white cat walks On padding paws till the end of the day, Prowling noiselessly, only half curious, Up the long stairway all through the morning, Or sitting with warm light on his silver whiskers, Purring alone in the unanswering sunshine... Perhaps he curls to sleep on the deep cerulean blue Of the pillow that echoes the blue of his eyes, Shining as silverly rounded, soft-breathing As a cloud in the high June sky. Afraid to go home? ... Not afraid! ... This fear is more subtle than fear... To open the door of my lonely home Where the white cat stalks In the somber shadows of late afternoon, Ghost-soft, unheeding my step, (If I should call wildly he would not listen) ... Those half-opaque, sharp-pointed ears... Did he pay with the gold coin of hearing for beauty? Is he a God to ignore me until capricious whim Move him to friendliness? Oh, Sphinx or Cat! White Cat with turquoise eyes, I wait at the door while the after-glow fades And the First-Star pierces the west. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 14 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING SUMMER DAYS by WATHEN MARK WILKS CALL THE VANISHING BOAT by EDMUND WILLIAM GOSSE THOSE EVENING BELLS by THOMAS MOORE MOUNTAIN PICTURES: 2. MONADNOCK FROM WACHUSETT by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE PLEASED CAPTIVE; A SONG by PHILIP AYRES THE WANDERING JEW by PIERRE JEAN DE BERANGER |