Macavity: the Mystery Cat by T.S.Eliot

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw-
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air-
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!

Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square-
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!

He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's.
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair-
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!

And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair-
But it's useless to investigate - Macavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
'It must have been Macavity!' - but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,
Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN'T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!

MASCARILHO: GATO MISTÉRIO

Mascarilho misterioso, por alcunha Garra Leve,

É criminoso perfeito que se ri de toda a lei.

Nas brigadas da polícia faz reinar a confusão

Pois se chegam ao local - Mascarilho já sumiu!

Mascarilho, Mascarilho, gato que não tem igual,

Todas as leis violou, mesmo a lei da gravidade,

Capaz de levitação que faz inveja a faquir.

Chegando ao local do crime . Mascarilho já sumiu!

Podem revistar a cave, podem procurar no céu

Mas por mim volto a dizer - Mascarilho já sumiu!

Mascarilho é alto e esgui, arruivado tem o pelo

É logo reconhecido por ter olhor encovados,

Redonda cabeça e rugas cavadas de tanto pensar;

Por desleixo tem lixo no pelo, bigode eriçado.

Para ambos os lados abana a cabeça, parece serpente,

E mantem-se sempre alerta quando finge dormitar.

Mascarilho, Mascarilho, gato que não tem igual,

É um poço de maldade, demónio encarnado em gato.

Em azinhagas e praças, há gente que já o viu

Mas mal um crime descobrem - Mascarilho já sumiu!

Tem aspecto respeitável (mas fama de batoteiro).

Na polícia não tem ficha com impressões digitais

Mas se roubam a dispensa ou arrombam porta-jóias,

Ou se por acaso falta leite ou é morto um pequinês,

Se os vidros da estufa aparecem estilhaçados,

Por milagre ou por encanto - Mascarilho já sumiu!

Se da mão dos diplomatas se extraiu um tratado,

Se da mão dos almirantes um mapa foi desviado,

E dele só restam pedaços, entre a porta e os degraus,

Inquirir não adianta - Mascarilho já sumiu!

Quando a perda é divulgada, diz o Serviço Secreto:

"Foi Mascarilho por certo!" E o gato anda fugido,

Encontra-se a repousare lá vai lambendo as patas

Às voltas com divisões, difíceis operações.

Mascarilho, Mascarilho, gato que não tem igual

Entre os Gatos é o primeiro, mansamente traiçoeiro,

Tem sempre bom alibi, um ou mais se necessário.

Que importa a hora do crime? Mascarilho já sumiu!

Outros gatos (dizem mesmo), famosos delinquentes,

Por exemplo Maganão e a própria Serigaita,

São agentes, nada mais, do felino imperador,

Chefe supremo, estratego, Napoleão malfeitor.

De T.S. Eliot, O Livro dos Gatos, Tradução de João

Almeida Flor, Editora Caravela, 1992

My cat and i by Roger McGough

Girls are simply the prettiest things
My cat and i believe
And we're always saddened
When it's time for them to leave

We watch them titivating
(that often takes a while)
And though they keep us waiting
My cat and i just smile

We like to see them to the door
Say how sad it couldn't last
Then my cat and i go back inside
And talk about the past.

Cattails in my Coffee, Stuart Johnson

While calmly sipping coffee of a morn,

And contemplating on why I was born,

I watch the cat climb softly to my lap

To primp and preen, then settle down to nap.

As he begins to wash his wiskery face

He will not keep his wandering tail in place.

And while it's waving wildly in the air

I try to track it down--it's never there.

It wiggles to the left as I reach right

And rebounds again in rhythmic delight.

I resume my searching as it rises up,

Then comes down to coil in my coffee cup.

The tabby turns translucent eyes on me

As if to tell me, "There! now do you see?

If not for you my tail would still be dry.

Why can't you humans be as calm as I?"

And cleaning caffeine off his copious fur,

He curls into a ball, begins to purr.

A call upon his dreams he plans to keep,

As he proceeds to promptly fall asleep.