Ann Struthers

Cat Naps

Great gray ships steamed into Liverpool from Egypt,
carrying tons of cat mummies,
pulverized and sold as fertilizer for the roses
of England: pearl-white Moonlight;
coral edged Escapade; blowsy pink Mary Rose;
Proud Titania; Mountbatten; Passion Park,
and the other reds, all these blessed by Bastet,
the cat goddess.  Now Egypt in England,
the Island part of the Mainland.

Mummy wrappings used for paper making,
human mummy dust used to stop bleeding
of wounds, and English cats lay down
in the shade of roses made rich by Egypt,
dreaming of the days when they were gods.