Friday, October 26, 2012

Kitten Part 1

I'm getting my little kitten today!  To make a long story short, something happened so the kittens didn't get fixed, so we're taking my kitty to our vet to get her fixed separately and Mom (Linda, Grandma) is going to get the mother cat fixed right away because the father cat has been hanging around, and Mom certainly doesn't need more cats!  Oh, and the reason this is Part 1 is because Part 2, which will be written tonight, will have pictures and a detailed description.  Part 1 is just talking about getting the kitty.
I love T.S. Eliot's works.  'Murder in the Cathedral' is one of my favorite books.  Once I acted it out for Mother.  But I'm actually focusing on this poem...

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey-
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter-
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellyorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover-
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

At that note, I leave you to wait for Part 2.

4 comments:

  1. That poem is fantastic! I'll have to read more of his work. =) Lovely, lovely post Professor! <3

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  2. T.S. Eliot is quite amazing! Tomorrow I'm posting another poem of his that is also about cats.
    Thank you Kari dear! <3

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  3. Well, I thought about posting that one... but I decided not to.

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