 | Short poems for short people |  |
CLEOPATRA.
We've called our young puss Cleopatra;
'T was Grandpa who named her like that.
He says it means lazy and idle—
A queer enough name for a cat!
'T was Grandpa who named her like that.
He says it means lazy and idle—
A queer enough name for a cat!
But then she is certainly idle,
And lazy besides, beyond cure;
And if this is the word's definition,
It 's better than Tabby, I'm sure.
And lazy besides, beyond cure;
And if this is the word's definition,
It 's better than Tabby, I'm sure.
She leads the most lovely existence,
And one which appears to enchant,
Asleep in the sun like a snow-flake
That tries to get melted and can't;
And one which appears to enchant,
Asleep in the sun like a snow-flake
That tries to get melted and can't;
Or now and then languidly strolling
Through plots of the garden to steal
On innocent grasshoppers, crunching
Her cruel and murderous meal;
Through plots of the garden to steal
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Her cruel and murderous meal;
Or lapping from out of her saucer—
The dainty and delicate elf!—
With appetite spoiled in the garden,
New milk that 's as white as herself.
The dainty and delicate elf!—
With appetite spoiled in the garden,
New milk that 's as white as herself.
Dear, dear! Could we only change places,
That do-nothing pussy and I,
You'd find it hard work, Cleopatra,
To live, as the moments went by.
That do-nothing pussy and I,
You'd find it hard work, Cleopatra,
To live, as the moments went by.
Ah, how would you relish, I wonder,
To sit in a school-room for hours?
You 'd find it less pleasant, I fancy,
Than murdering bugs in the flowers.
To sit in a school-room for hours?
You 'd find it less pleasant, I fancy,
Than murdering bugs in the flowers.
| Short poems for short people | |