Femme Et Chatte

Original Text

Arthur Symons, <i>Poems</i>, 2 vols. (London: William Heinemann, 1912): 211.
Internet Archive.

1They were at play, she and her cat,

2And it was marvelous to mark

3The white paw and the white hand pat

4Each other in the deepening dark.

5The stealthy little lady hid

6Under her mittens' silken sheath

7Her deadly agate nails that thrid

8The silk-like dagger-points of death.

9The cat purred primly and drew in

10Her claws that were of steel filed thin:

11The devil was in it all the same.

12And in the boudoir, while a shout

13Of laughter in the air rang out,

14Four sparks of phosphor shone like flame.

RPO poem Editors

Ian Lancashire

Data entry: Sharine Leung

RPO Edition

2012

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