18: Poem

The Cat And The Moon

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.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet.
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
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.

–William Butler Yeats

Tonight the moon wanes to nothing; a new moon tomorrow. We flew out of Seattle this dark winter afternoon, and landed in Houston at midnight to fog, then rain. No moon visible in the sky tomorrow, and no cats to stroke.

To open the advent calendar window for Day 18, click here:

When our cats stare out from the window sill of our dining room, a favorite spot for feline contemplation, they may see the moon waxing through our neighbor’s cherry tree. For the next few days, they will look out on the world without us.

I hope they are kind to the Christmas tree in our absence.