Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ODE TO A BOB-TAILED CAT, by ANONYMOUS First Line: Felis infelix! Cat unfortunate Last Line: Follow your fashion Subject(s): Animals;cats | ||||||||
FELIS INFELIX! Cat unfortunate, With nary narrative! Canst thou no tail relate Of how (Miaow!) Thy tail end came to terminate so bluntly Didst wear it off by Sedentary habits As do the rabbits? Didst go a Fishing with it, Wishing with it To "bob" for catfish, And get bobbed thyself? Curses on that fish! Didst lose it in kittenhood, Hungrily chawing it? Or, gaily pursuing it, Did it make tangent From thy swift circuit? Did some brother Greyback -- Yowling And howling In nocturnal strife, Spitting and staring Cursing and swearing, Ripping and tearing, Calling thee "Sausagetail," Abbreviate thy sufflx? Or did thy jealous wife Detect yer In some sly flirtation, And, after caudal lecture, Bite off thy termination? And sarve yer right! Did some mischievous boy, Some barbarous boy, Eliminate thy finis? (Probably!) The wretch! The villain! Cruelly spillin' Thy innocent blood! Furiously scratch him Where'er yer may catch him! Well, Bob, this course now is left, Since thus of your tail you're bereft; Tell your friend that by letter From Paris You have learned the style there is To wear the tail short, And the briefer the better; Such is the passion, That every Grimalkin will Follow your fashion. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HOW THE MIRROR LOOKS THIS MORNING by HICOK. BOB THE LONELY MAN by RANDALL JARRELL IN SEVERAL COLORS by JANE KENYON OPENING HER JEWEL BOX by WILLIAM MATTHEWS HAZARD FACES A SUNDAY IN THE DECLINE by WILLIAM MEREDITH TIS A LITTLE JOURNEY by ANONYMOUS |
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