A Roman Face-off
In the twilight yard of Sant’Isidoro,
cat and pigeon eye to eye in a stare-down,
ignore the bang of the cancello
as I enter from my Sunday passegiata,
locked in fur-and-feather face-off.
It could just be for show,
entertainment for passing tourists on the Via degli Artisti,
since after allowing me a photo opp, the pigeon takes flight—
“That cat’s too fat and lazy to chase anything,”
Father Joe tells me later.
“The pigeon could have stepped a few paces closer.”
Among the million cats of Rome
ours have grown too used to the tolerance
of St. Francis or perhaps the benevolence
of tourists dispensing food at the fence.
I’ve watched these felines
lazing in hot Roman summer sun,
siesta-ing most of the day.
Now I’m convinced
they’re not working nights either.
8 thoughts on "A Roman Face-off "
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makes me think of the dr. who cat-nuns 🙂
Yes, was their place called “the Cloister” or something like that??
can’t recall.. i’m afraid you’ll make my algorithm
far too nunny-nunfilled if i try to find out. 🙂
i think you might be right tho- or it was a special ward
in a hospital (?)
anyhoo, all that to say, i am enjoying your (thoughtful) sense of balance in your offerings this month, exploring the sublime vs. street-level spectrum and leaving us/reader to fill in the inbetween.
OK, my algorithm is already too nunnifed: “The Sisters of Plentitude were an order of Catkind nuns who ran the New New York Hospital. On the positive side, they were able to cure any disease in the known universe. On the downside, they were illegally growing artificial humans in a farm to develop said cures. The Doctor didn’t think the positives outweighed the abominable negatives and shut them down.”
as is the case
usually with cats-
a mixed bag..
thanks for the research 🙂
I like how the title makes me think of the Roman gladiators and the poem turns it to irony
You paint a scene well!
In the twilight yard of Sant’Isidoro,
cat and pigeon eye to eye in a stare-down,
ignore the bang of the cancello
as I enter from my Sunday passegiata,
locked in fur-and-feather face-off.
This is great, Greg, I can see and feel the face-off – and we’re on a wavelength across the ocean. I wrote a cat poem today, too!