CAT CULLS

Cats, as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by the fact that in ancient Egypt, they were worshiped as gods. –P.G. Wodehouse

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The above quote is left over from quotes I considered using in my previous post (REIGNING CATS & DOGS TODAY) until I decided to separate it out to set up the following poem. It’s a poem I published several years ago on a site which shall remain nameless because I promised I would no longer name it when I re-publish poems it deleted. Nonetheless, after taking extraordinary care to keep my promise, I suspect that Some Will Indict me for breaking the spirit, if not the letter, of that vow. To them I say, Speak Without Interpreting my intentions, which are as steadfast as a Swivel With Instability.

In the Castle of Zorayda, there
is displayed a 2,400 year old rug
made from the hair of sacred cats
which were worshiped by ancient
Egyptians along the Nile River
in the Valley of the Kings.

One might wonder how the fur of
supposedly sacred felines wound up
as rugs, fit for nothing better than
to be tramped on by mere mortals,
the likes of you and yours truly.
But it seems this particular rug was

culled to wrap and embalm a mummy,
which, for a high roller, beats ending up
as fur on the floor. So, the next time
you’re having a bad hair day, remember
worse things have happened to better,
holier — and hairier — cats than you.