ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
Cat and Mouse
On the sheep-cropped summit, under hot sun, The mouse crouched, staring out the chance It dared not take. Woods, villages, farms hummed its heat-heavy Stupor of life. Whether in God’s eye or the eye of a cat. Ted Hughes |
I no longer have my 1965 vintage cat and mouse sweater chain. But I remember it well and was able to track down a few photos on the internet. I must have worn it to school every day in 2nd grade, until the mouse's tail snapped in two. Even after that, I saved at the bottom of my trinket box for a long time, along with my broken Snow White Watch (3rd grade).
These two poems -- above by Ted Hughes, below by William Blake
-- align perfectly with the drama of the sweater guard. Look! There is the glittering "eye of a cat," pursuing the anxious mouse. And there is the "end of a golden string," enticing the cat in its perpetual conflict with the universe.
I give you the end of a golden string;
Only wind it into a ball, It will lead you in at Heaven’s gate, Built in Jerusalem’s wall. William Blake |
here are a few glittering examples:
Robert Frost:
"nothing gold can stay"
Barbara Kunz Loots:
"watch the gold illusion drift away"
Joseph Parry:
"Make new friends,
but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold."
Johnny Marks:
"Silver and gold . . .
How do you measure its worth?
Just by the pleasure
It gives here on Earth."
Shakespeare:
"all that
glisters / glistens / glitters
is not gold"
Spandau Ballet:
"Gold!
Always believe in your soul
You've got the power to know
You're indestructible
Always believe in, 'cause you are
Gold . . ."
Yeats:
" . . . pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun."
The Cloths of Heaven
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. Previously in this series of jewelry inspired posts:
Re: Jewel, Rainbow, Splendor
Heirloom Jewelry
Diamond Studs Are Forever
Choose Dearests, Choose
Where is Fancy Bred
AND MORE
Also in my jewelry box:
Three Sisters' Pin & Pendant
that my sisters and I wear whenever we're together
Next Fortnightly Post
Saturday, October 14th
Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com
Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com