61 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
61 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: From the Point of View of a Cat
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tags:
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- authorship/other
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- exclude-from-word-count
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- status/complete
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- type/media/poetry
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up: "[[poetry]]"
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author: Karel Čapek
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booktitle: "Intimate Things: Stories from Everyday Life"
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language: English
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origlanguage: Czech
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translator: Dora Round
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type: incollection
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year: 1935
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---
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# From the Point of View of a Cat
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This is my Man. I am not afraid of him. \
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He is very strong, for he eats a great deal; \
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he is an Eater of All Things. \
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What are you eating? Give me some!
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He is not beautiful, for he has no fur. \
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Not having enough saliva, he has to wash himself with water. \
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He meows in a harsh voice and a great deal more than necessary. \
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Sometimes in his sleep he purrs.
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Let me out!
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I don't know how he has made himself Master; \
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perhaps he has eaten something sublime.
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He keeps my rooms clean for me.
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In his paws he carries a sharp black claw \
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and he scratches with it on white sheets of paper. \
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That is the only game he plays. \
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He sleeps at night instead of by day, \
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he cannot see in the dark, \
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he has no pleasures. \
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He never thinks of blood, never dreams of hunting or fighting; \
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he never sings songs of love.
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Often at night when _I_ can hear mysterious and magic voices, \
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when _I_ can see that the darkness is all alive, \
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_he_ sits at the table with his head bent and goes on and on, \
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scratching with his black claw on the white papers. \
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Don't imagine that I am at all interested in you. \
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I am only listening to the soft whispering of your claw. \
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Sometimes the whispering is silent, \
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the poor dull head does not know how to go on playing, \
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and then I am sorry for him and I meow softly in sweet and sharp discord. \
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Then my Man picks me up and buries his hot face in my fur. \
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At those times he divines for an instant a glimpse of a higher life, \
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and he sighs with happiness and purrs something which can almost be understood.
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But don't think that I am at all interested in you. \
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You have warmed me, and now I will go out again and listen to the dark voices.
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