Poems-To My Cat

TO MY CAT

My cat, my dear and gentle friend,
As you lay sleeping quietly,
I think of all the times we spend
In true and happy company.
How I delight my life to share
With you, so loyal and dignified,
Sublime reward beyond compare,
Just to see you by my side.
Dear cat, how full of grace you are,
As near perfection as could be,
Most elegant of life’s gifts by far,
Proportioned in pure symmetry.
Yet your placid form does hide
A supple strength and gallant heart,
You are, it cannot be denied
Nature’s finest work of art.
How much joy you bring to me,
Like sunshine to a winter’s day,
What greater pleasure can there be
Than to watch you as you play.
When troubles seem to grow apace
I tell you of my fears and pain,
You rub your head against my face,
And suddenly, all is well again.
In the private world that’s all your own
You have no thoughts of greed or spite,
Nor waste your time to weep and moan
Of things that do not seem just right.
I look at you with grateful heart,
As in the fire’s warm glow you lie,
The simple joys that you impart,
No money on this earth could buy.
Oh, my dear friend, when you are gone,
Such sadness will be hard to bear,
The rooms so empty, days so long,
When you are no longer there.
But you, sweet cat, you cannot know
That final parting brings such pain,
When fate at last deals that cruel blow,
And I cannot hold you tight again.
My cat, my dear and gentle friend,
As you lay sleeping quietly,
I thank you for the time we spend
In true and happy company.
How I delight my life to share
With you, so loyal and dignified,
Blessed am I with riches rare,
When I have you by my side.

-Roy Burton-