Extra Poems by T. S. Eliot

[Dr. J.]

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter,
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo, or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George, or Bill Bailey ¬p;
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter ¬p;
But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum ¬p;
Names that never belong to more than one cat.

But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover ---
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.


--- T.S. Eliot, in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

And here's a poem that I particularly like because of the imagery.

“The Winter Evening” by T. S. Eliot

The winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o'clock. The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots; The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

Please print this one and tuck it into your book.

MLJ

[Mark and Jeanne Mulvanerty]

Hi Everyone --

On Youtube you can hear Eliot reading "J. Alfred Prufrock." There are some
pictures of the poet that you can see as you hear the poem. If you want to
check it out, click below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhiCMAG658M

I do find it helpful to hear some of these poems and also to read posts
people have written to better understand these poems.

See you later,
Jeanne M.