Elegy To A Cat Poem by Venkateswaran Krishnan Sreenivasan

An unknown guest peeped at morn, a female cat
Mewing and purring, beside me she sat
Yearning, it seemed, for the friendly pat
I gave; then on my lap she lay flat

Purring and rubbing, she lay on my lap
Never before she had such a cozy nap
Her belly was bulging with her babies unborn
Concern for their safety made her forlorn

My feline friend came every morn
For her rightful feed of milk and corn
Being denied access to her chosen place
She climbed on the terrace with a wry face

Every morn she came to my hearth
For its wholesome feed and a secure berth
To bring forth her babies at birth
Every mother knows her labor’s worth

Unseen and unsung, she brought forth her litter
Of three little kittens, always sucking and sleeping
On my terrace corner; I was her baby sitter
When she went hunting, for their safe keeping

Unwary of safety of the place she chose
Skeptic that I was, the nook I did enclose
With barricades strong, but still
That night, the civet cat did, her babies kill

The hapless creature hovered hoping against hope
For days without preying but crying nonstop
The instinct of love is a divine prop
For all living things, their tears to mop

In an inter feline feud, she was injured badly
Crippled and lame, she was limping sadly
I had a distant glimpse of this creature sore
I can’t write more, she was seen no more