*Rainer Maria Rilke *Rainer Maria Rilke
i
“The Cat’s Lunch”, Marguerite Gérard, 18th/19th century
Variety

*Rainer Maria Rilke

New Verse by Once-Famous Poets
Grzegorz Uzdański
Reading
time 1 minute

“Cats on Facebook”

The cat fan pages, windows onto worlds
Of night and silence. Perhaps the echo’s
Touch of dreams. Blurring hunting with sleeping
On a warm stove. Making the blood boil in
A spectral pounce. Purring under the soft
Human touch. The echo of ancient woods,
Of moss, dark on the edges of gorges.
Oh, why on Earth do they, with fur touched by
The sands of Egypt, make me smile so much?
My Facebook wall teems with paw prints. More new
Pics from sister groups: THIS CAT IS CHONKY,
THIS CAT IS BEBBE, THIS CAT IS MAJESTIC.
Angel, should you ever ask “Why the Earth?,”
I would show you these pictures. These furry
Bellies and spiky ears, and the figure-
of-eight-like tail, the very widely
Open eyes, and from between the sharp teeth,
The hilariously pink tongue’s very edge.

Information

Breaking news! This is the first of your five free articles this month. You can get unlimited access to all our articles and audio content with our digital subscription.

Subscribe

This poem is part of the series “New Verse by Once-Famous Poets” and is not an authentic poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Also read:

*William Shakespeare *William Shakespeare
i
The Geography Lesson or "The Black Spot", Albert Bettannier, 1887/Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Variety

*William Shakespeare

New Verse by Once-Famous Poets
Grzegorz Uzdański

“Remote Lesson”

TEACHER

Children, I sent materials to you
On Henry IV. Would someone please recount
The valiant deeds of this time-honoured king?
No one hath read it? What say ye?

Continue reading