[071]
Lady Atem, I hope this small gift will once more help your heart to soar.
The Queen of Cats ensconced in her bower,
Lay at ease, basking in her power.
All around, her attendants danced.
With feline joy, they gamboled and pranced.
In frantic search were three little kittens,
Always finding and losing their mittens.
And there was the smiling cat of Cheshire,
Leading others in a merry chase around their lair.
Cats of all stories did play and tease.
All but the Queen of Cats, who was ill at ease.
Such beauty as the Queen's was none greater,
And wouldn't ever be, not now nor later.
Her fur was soft and sleek as finest silk,
The whiteness of creamy milk.
With eyes of bright green glass,
She'd watched her subjects for an eternity passed.
And as she lounged on her satin pillo,
She would continue to watch the antics below.
She'd once been worshipped in gold, silver, and brass,
This Queen of Cats, this Goddess Bast.
For the ancient days did the goddess pine,
Days of jewels and worship, not toy mice and twine.
A witch's cat took notice after a while.
Said he, "Highness, why do you not smile?
Join us as we pounce and play and purr!
Or should we groom your perfect fur?
Here's a game of 'How High Can You Jump?'!
There's an old tom to give your bones a hump!"
And the little cat began again to frolic,
And showed the queen the joy of being lively and quick.
The Queen watched and began to ponder.
Why wasn't she happy, she did wonder.
She missed the priestesses she'd called sister.
She missed how they'd brushed her fur, cooed, and kissed her.
The Queen rose and called for the Cheshire Cat and his vanishing act.
"You can come and go on a whim, and that is fact.
Find a human of proper blood to give my blessing,
And with her head, don't be messing!"
Cheshire took up a collar of jewels and gold,
And off he set for parts untold.
Beign as he was, Cheshire sought places of madness.
And there he found a pharaoh with a heart of sadness.
Invisible did he steal with his Queen's gift,
Thinking it might make the pharaoh's heart lift.
Cheshire left the gift where it would be seen,
On a table, gleaming its shimmery sheen.
And the pharaoh did try on the collar,
And she let out a startled holler.
Away vanished the broken-hearted tears,
As the pharaoh stared at a cat tail and ears.
The Queen of Cats ensconced in her bower,
Lay at ease, basking in her power.
All around, her attendants danced.
With feline joy, they gamboled and pranced.
In frantic search were three little kittens,
Always finding and losing their mittens.
And there was the smiling cat of Cheshire,
Leading others in a merry chase around their lair.
Cats of all stories did play and tease.
All but the Queen of Cats, who was ill at ease.
Such beauty as the Queen's was none greater,
And wouldn't ever be, not now nor later.
Her fur was soft and sleek as finest silk,
The whiteness of creamy milk.
With eyes of bright green glass,
She'd watched her subjects for an eternity passed.
And as she lounged on her satin pillo,
She would continue to watch the antics below.
She'd once been worshipped in gold, silver, and brass,
This Queen of Cats, this Goddess Bast.
For the ancient days did the goddess pine,
Days of jewels and worship, not toy mice and twine.
A witch's cat took notice after a while.
Said he, "Highness, why do you not smile?
Join us as we pounce and play and purr!
Or should we groom your perfect fur?
Here's a game of 'How High Can You Jump?'!
There's an old tom to give your bones a hump!"
And the little cat began again to frolic,
And showed the queen the joy of being lively and quick.
The Queen watched and began to ponder.
Why wasn't she happy, she did wonder.
She missed the priestesses she'd called sister.
She missed how they'd brushed her fur, cooed, and kissed her.
The Queen rose and called for the Cheshire Cat and his vanishing act.
"You can come and go on a whim, and that is fact.
Find a human of proper blood to give my blessing,
And with her head, don't be messing!"
Cheshire took up a collar of jewels and gold,
And off he set for parts untold.
Beign as he was, Cheshire sought places of madness.
And there he found a pharaoh with a heart of sadness.
Invisible did he steal with his Queen's gift,
Thinking it might make the pharaoh's heart lift.
Cheshire left the gift where it would be seen,
On a table, gleaming its shimmery sheen.
And the pharaoh did try on the collar,
And she let out a startled holler.
Away vanished the broken-hearted tears,
As the pharaoh stared at a cat tail and ears.