Poem for the month

selected by David Underdown

A 14-Year-Old Convalescent Cat in the Winter

by Gavin Ewart

I want him to have another living summer,
to lie in the sun and enjoy the douceur de vivre –

because the sun, like golden rum in a rummer,
is what makes an idle cat un tout petit peu ivre –

I want him to lie stretched out, contented,
revelling in the heat, his fur all dry and warm,
an Old Age Pensioner, retired, resented
by no one, and happinesses in a bee-like swarm

to settle on him – postponed for another season
that last hateful journey to the vet
from which there is no return (and age the reason)
which must soon come – as I cannot forget.

Gavin Ewart (1916-95) enjoyed early success as a published poet, including a collection in his twenties entitled ‘Phallus in Wonderland’. At the height of the swinging sixties his casual and sometimes flamboyant style led to a later volume,‘Pleasures of the Flesh’, being banned by WH Smith. This poem taken from ‘The New Ewart: Poems 1980-1982’ (published by Hutchinson) chooses less controversial subject matter but its affectionate mood will probably strike a chord with all cat lovers.