The Cat and the Moon

I love my cats. I've always promised myself I wouldn't be a "cat person," but there is something picturesque, mysterious and slightly superior in the attitude and posture of a cat. I'm pretty sure Djinn understands exactly what I'm saying, but he chooses to ignore it and do as he pleases, whether to curl up contentedly against my leg while I'm reading in bed, or perch at the edge of the bed and groom. I love the poetry of T.S. Eliot and his mischievious cats, and my mom introduced me to this wonderful poem by Yeats. The poem below is a perfect portrayal of the relationship of a cat with an equally mysterious object which I love to ponder, the moon. In keeping with my moon poetry, enjoy the poem!


The cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky,
Troubled his animal blood...
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.

W.B. Yeats