Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dyed
The azure flowers that blow;
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima, reclined,
Gazed on the lake below.
Her conscious tail her joy declared;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw; and purred applause.
Still had she gazed; but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The genii of the stream:
Their scaly armor's Tyrian hue
Through richest purple to the view
Betrayed a golden gleam.
The hapless nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretched in vain to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat's averse to fish?
Presumptuous maid! with looks intent
Again she stretched, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulf between.
(Malignant Fate sat by and smiled)
The slippery verge her feet beguiled,
She tumbled headlong in.
Eight times emerging from the flood
She mewed to every watery god,
Some speedy aid to send.
No dolphin came, no Nereid stirred;
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard;
A favorite has no friend!
From hence, ye beauties, undeceived,
Know, one false step is ne'er retrieved,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;
Nor all that glisters, gold.
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Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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Such great flow, rhythm and rhyme in these lines - such a sad tale told here. Quite the lessons taught at the end - too late for the cat though....
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Clever!
How could I resist with a title like this? LOL An excellent read here. I like the cunning, the colors, descriptive eloquence, so much more...
The second stanza caused me to visualize the "cat" with great ease.
I needed to read this jsut now. Our dog died a couple of days ago, and Mr. Gray's poetry made me smile.
Thanks to the OP Staff for the feature.
Renee
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Amazing.
Now THIS is poetry! -
I'd forgotten how wonderful it can be to read poetry (smile)
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Oh this is wonderful!
A tribute to temptation's triumph over experience. hahahahaha!
So vividly expressive this poet.
Paul
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