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III. CAT’S EDEN
by Stanley Barkin
Does man play with the cat,
or does the cat play with man?
--MONTAIGNE
When the first cat
crawled up on a rock
in Eden,
he cautiously considered
all the creatures about him.
Closing his eyes
at too much sun pouring
through the leafy overgrowth,
he licked his front paws,
rubbed his ears,
curled his tail around him
and purred:
“Well, this one I’ll call ‘Man’;
that one ‘Woman.’
Just right
for two pets
in my garden.
They will serve me
milk and catnip
and caress me
whenever I wish.
Now it’s time to play
‘Mouse & Cat’ . . .
On second thought,
after lunch.”
Naming the Birds by Stanley Barkin (Cross-Cultural Communications, 2002).