Tuesday 29 November 2011

Memoirs of a Cat-Stroking Man

Yes, it's true,
I've stroked a lot of cats in my time.
Never have I kicked one,
tied fireworks to one's tail
or hung one
from a washing line.

But it's true,
I’ve stroked a lot of cats in my time.

Now, we cat strokers
get little acclaim for what we do .
History doesn't remember us
as it does the adventurers and entertainers,
the rulers and warriors:
people whose short stay on Earth

is NOISIER,
           
                         S
                            E
                         X
                          i
                            e
                          r,
                        
more ex-
                                                  PLO-
                                                              sive.
                                                          
But it is my dream
to someday publish my
Memoirs of a Cat-Stroking Man

And my hope,
that by doing so
I’ll prove cat stroking to be
a noble endeavour,
both vital and worthy.

From that moment onwards,
cat strokers the globe over
will be as respected and revered
as history’s bolder sons
and daughters
are today.




















Illustration by Iván Quintero
Poem by Benjamin Palmer