For an Elderly Cat

For an Elderly Cat, in Winter

"I want him to have another living summer,
to lie in the sun and enjoy the 'douceur de vivre'-
because the sun, like golden rum in a rummer,
is what makes an idle cat 'un tout petit peu livre'-

I want him to lie stretched out, contented,
revelling in the heat, his fur all dry and warm,
an Old Age Pensioner, retired resented
by no one, and happinesses in a bee like swarm

to settle on him-postponed for another season
that last dreaded journey to the vet
from which there is no return (and age the reason),
which must soon come -  as I cannot forget."