Cats Abroad
“It is not worth the while to go round the world to count the cats in Zanzibar.” -Thoreau
The cats of England at the cottage door
look up expectant, when the milk man comes,
like furry Olivers who beg for more,
beneath a shelter of chrysanthemums.
The cats of Belgium in the baker’s shop
adorn a window — in the bar, a stool.
The cats of Greece, at every culture stop,
are waiting for a tourist to befool.
I judge the nations by the way they treat
these purry gentry just below their knees.
Where cats are loved, I know that strangers meet
a kindly welcome and a will to please.
Why spend so much and haul myself so far
if not to count the cats in Zanzibar?
by Gail White, first published in Sonnets in a Hostile World.
Editor’s note: This made me smile and sometimes that is all that is necessary.
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