The Antiquated Cat. Poem by vickie Branigan

Egyptian Mau spring forth from a lion's jaw,
A gift to guard granaries with clever claw.

Bastet, cat_headed goddess held royal pride,
Cats cosseted in baskets, were beatified.

Holy scribes with papyrus wrote this decree,
'Punishable by death' if man dared kill thee.

Cat worship in the temple of Bubastis,
Along the Delta to Heliopolis.

Came debauched devotees of Baast, melodic dream, kyphi, sphinx, pipes of lotus, crash tambourine.

Until reverie is opaque and asleep,
And Persian pomegranates shall make you weep.

Plundering the red granite temples of Baast,
Indelible ruins, remnants of past.

Mummified and entombed in hieroglyphic,
Our revere of cats snuffed out like drowning wick.

So take a moment if you can and light a candle for Bastet.
Protector of women and child,
Goddess of sunrise and breath,
Music, dance and all things joyous.
And most of all,
Be nice to a cat.