A STRAY CAT'S PRAYER
(Maud Christie)
Dear Lord, it is so wet and drear,
The icy wind is beating round
The archway where a carter here
Has dropped some straw upon the ground.
I curl in tight against the cold
And wash the leg that got a kick,
I used to be so spruce of old,
But now I have no strength to lick.
In some dim way I think I knew,
A gentle hand that stroked my head,
And spoke kind loving words and true
And made a warm and cozy bed
And laid down plates of milk and meat
Before a warm and glowing fire.
Today I only had to eat
A fish-head lying in the mire.
I am a little frightened, Lord,
The world is very cruel and wild,
You love the little children, Lord,
I also am your loving child.
Father of all the tiny things
(The fallen sparrow in their plight
Are sheltered by your heavenly wings
Care for a little cat tonight.
STRAY(Anon)
My life is hard, my cupboard bare,
I wander here, I wander there,
And oft I forage in a bin,
But no kind soul will ask me in.
To feel 'belonged' by only thought,
But all my wishes come to naught.
THE STRAY(W Mustoe)
He is battered and ugly, has fought in many battles,
And apparently lost them all - nobody wants him,
Nobody cares if a car reduces him
To a wet grey pulp to be cleared away and forgotten.
He is eternally wary, eternally hungry,
But food must be left in some anonymous corner,
Caresses repel him. Anything on two legs
Is hated and feared. Quite naturally of course,
He associates them with curses and kicks and stones.
I could weep for him. I cannot communicate -
The lines have vanished. To a cat, as to any creature,
A kindness may come too late - one kick too late.
Neighbour's puppies are terrorizing the strays at my backyard. The cat next to to the pointed one is injured. Eyes filled with pus, barely respond to me anymore.
*moment of silence
He is battered and ugly, has fought in many battles,
And apparently lost them all - nobody wants him,
Nobody cares if a car reduces him
To a wet grey pulp to be cleared away and forgotten.
He is eternally wary, eternally hungry,
But food must be left in some anonymous corner,
Caresses repel him. Anything on two legs
Is hated and feared. Quite naturally of course,
He associates them with curses and kicks and stones.
I could weep for him. I cannot communicate -
The lines have vanished. To a cat, as to any creature,
A kindness may come too late - one kick too late.
Neighbour's puppies are terrorizing the strays at my backyard. The cat next to to the pointed one is injured. Eyes filled with pus, barely respond to me anymore.
*moment of silence
