Poetry Month Day 5: 'The Naming of Cats' by T.S. Eliot

[dwgm]

~ The Naming of Cats ~
From Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot


The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, or George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.


~.~

Comments

[erinya.livejournal.com]

I love Eliot's Practical Cats. He truly understood felines. (I adore the musical as well. *shameless*)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I'm shameless, too. I read the poems before Cats came out, though, and when I finally heard the music they'd been set to, I was blown away by the tunes that went so well with the poems I loved. It was ten years on Broadway for a good reason. :)

[drunkandinlove.livejournal.com]

this made me feel cool for having a poem memorized (of course I really just know all the words from Cats, but I suppose that's good enough) :-)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Good enough indeed, seeing as how nearly all the songs are from T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Such fun poetry! Glad you enjoyed this!

[captaintish]

LOL.

I'm not usually much into poetry but this? Was awesome. :)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I do love the Cats! :) Glad you enjoyed this, too!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Man, you know it, too. I figure that's what is going through Sylvester's mind when he's studiously ignoring me, flicking his tail in my direction like I'm simply an irritant instead of his primary source of food and Soft Things To Sleep Upon. But he's 12 and Frank is only 2, and hasn't yet figured out his Name, I think. *G*

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

Wonderful poem! So plausible ^^

[viva-lla-gloria.livejournal.com]

I love this poem! :)

[ladymouse2.livejournal.com]

Loves Eliot's Cat poems. Discovered them by accident as a child while reading a children's digest magazine with Macavity, learned there were more and was lost.

Many years later in adulthood have the chance to catch the show on Broadway and was in love all over again.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

McCavity was my first, too!

We're going to see Cats in July, only my second time seeing it live, though I've known the words and music for many years. So much fun!

[ladymouse2.livejournal.com]

That's marvelous! Have a wonderful time!