Sunday, February 22, 2009

Sunday Poetry: Pablo Neruda

Cat's Dream


How neatly a cat sleeps,
sleeps with its paws and its posture,
sleeps with its wicked claws,
and with its unfeeling blood,
sleeps with all the rings--
a series of burnt circles--
which have formed the odd geology
of its sand-colored tail.

I should like to sleep like a cat,
with all the fur of time,
with a tongue rough as flint,
with the dry sex of fire;
and after speaking to no one,
stretch myself over the world,
over roofs and landscapes,
with a passionate desire
to hunt the rats in my dreams.

I have seen how the cat asleep
would undulate, how the night
flowed through it like dark water;
and at times, it was going to fall
or possibly plunge into
the bare deserted snowdrifts.
Sometimes it grew so much in sleep
like a tiger's great-grandfather,
and would leap in the darkness over
rooftops, clouds and volcanoes.

Sleep, sleep cat of the night,
with episcopal ceremony
and your stone-carved moustache.
Take care of all our dreams;
control the obscurity
of our slumbering prowess
with your relentless heart
and the great ruff of your tail.


Pablo Neruda


(Translated by Alastair Reid)

3 Comments:

Blogger Hecate said...

O, Goddess, I love that it's new to me. Such a delight! Miss Thing sleeps with me, sometimes w her paws crossed just over my heart. It's such a blessing to share a life with a priestess of Bast

4:53 PM  
Blogger Katia Shtefan said...

What an homage to cats!! Only Neruda could describe something so mundane as a cat sleepig in such beautiful, historical terms. If you really like him, check out Red Poppy at www.redpoppy.net. It's a non-profit set up to create a documentary about Neruda, publish his biography, and translate his works into English. To see our blog about Nerudá's literary activism, click on "Journal."

8:26 AM  
Blogger Katia Shtefan said...

What an homage to cats!! Only Neruda could describe something so mundane as a cat sleepig in such beautiful, historical terms. If you really like him, check out Red Poppy at www.redpoppy.net. It's a non-profit set up to create a documentary about Neruda, publish his biography, and translate his works into English. To see our blog about Nerudá's literary activism, click on "Journal."

8:26 AM  

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