Music and Cats

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” –Albert Schweitzer

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Feline Friday: Parlor panther

November 16th, 2007 by Kimberly

watching the world go by

I can’t explain why this photo of Sergei inspired me to look for poetry, but in my search I found (again) Pablo Neruda’s wonderful Oda al Gato (in translation, because my Spanish is not so good). Here’s an excerpt:

O little
emperor without a realm,
conqueror without a homeland,
diminutive parlor tiger, nuptial
sultan of heavens
roofed in erotic tiles:
when you pass
in rough weather
and poise
four nimble paws
on the ground,
sniffing,
suspicious
of all earthly things
(because everything
feels filthy
to the cat’s immaculate paw),
you claim
the touch of love in the air.

Parlor tigers, lions, leopards and panthers may deign to place their immaculate paws aboard the Friday Ark; then they’ll gather at Paulchen’s Food Blog for Weekend Cat Blogging.

Tags: 8 Comments

8 responses so far ↓

  • […] Sergei is acting as Parlour Panther. What a perfect pose and a very poetic picture. […]

  • 2 Modulator Nov 17, 2007 at 11:41 am

    Friday Ark #165…

    We’ll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and….? Visit all the …

  • 3 Kashim & Othello Nov 17, 2007 at 12:14 pm

    what a lovely photo and wonderful poem too!
    thanks for joiningus at WCB this weekend.
    puurs, K&O

  • 4 Elke Nov 17, 2007 at 12:21 pm

    Parlor panther! How neat to find this word. In German, you say “Stubentiger” - den tiger or parlor tiger, but of course it’s much better with the alliteration.

  • 5 DKM Nov 17, 2007 at 6:53 pm

    Neruda is one of my favorites and perfect for those cute little tuxie toes!

  • 6 CatSynth Nov 17, 2007 at 11:05 pm

    What a great photo. Parlor panther indeed!

  • 7 Kay Nov 18, 2007 at 2:54 am

    Beautiful photo of your kitty :D

  • 8 kitikata-san Nov 18, 2007 at 8:28 pm

    Looks like kitty is looking out across his domain while wondering where his next squirrel sighting may be.