The House Cat and the Parakeets
Said the house cat to the parakeets," How I love your joyful song.
Full of summer rays and blue skies, I could listen all day long,
As I nap beside the window, and dream of the hunt to come.
I so would love to sing along, but my voice is not as strong."
Sang the parakeet in the golden cage," It's true our songs are bright,
But they lament the bondage of our wings, and our soul's desire for flight.
We sing of the wind, the mourning sun, and soaring to the tree tops height
To build a nest to lay our eggs and cuddle in at night.
I ask a boon, oh sharp toothed friend, that you might help us in our plight.
Should the day come we escape this cell, that you will set our soul's alight,
And slay us both beneath your claws, but swiftly to avoid our fright."
Said the house cat to the parakeets with his ears bent back in dismay,
"To never again hear your sweet voices blend, it saddens me to think of the day.
Alone I'll be left, but you can depend on my claws to usher the way.
I will miss you to no end my friends, if only your hearts I could sway,
But if your wish is for freedom, I will send you and your love without play.
I'll send you without delay."
The day did come that the cage was left open by the Mistress' hand,
And the cat dispatched his duty as he and the parakeets planned.
Oh how the Mistress scolded the cat, and told him that he was bad.
She sent him to bed without dinner, so he would know that she was mad.
His days passed by in longing , till one day he heard a tap.
Two little sparrows outside his window sang for his daily nap.
Sir Thomas Moore
In memory of my feathered friends Peak and Bella.