Gravitas

Gravitas

In the living room or kitchen
There’s a cat with whiskers twitchen’
  Who will slowly rise behind the table edge
Two pointed ears, deep oval eyes,
He spies you knowing it’s no surprise
  As a furtive paw will reach what he can wedge,
To rest alike on cable remotes,
Cell phones, pens, keys, whatever it dotes
  On is drawn hesitantly to the tables’ ledge,
Where once pushed off it falls to the floor,
  Again

Proudly my genius cat struts out,
Bunts twice my leg, displays no doubt
  As I kid him, "Sir Isaac, your theory holds true,"
He strikes a pose dispelling stricture
As if he’s sitting for his picture
  To be published in the latest college text books
Did you enjoy that clever Newton?,
And is it true Mensa’s recruitin’?
  I’ll write you recommendations you genius cat!
Or is it just for the attention,
Perhaps some thrill I cannot mention,
  Has you knocking down whatever you can find?

In the shelter where we found him,
Where he begged rescue with a forelimb,
  They named him Newton for the street where he was found,
Unknowing it was so becoming a name
That even one with Eliots’ fame
  Could never guess how profoundly he’d been crowned,
No sooner was he in our door
Than things rained down onto the floor
  And his experiments began to drive us mad,
Today his tests plans are the same,
Although he’s driving us insane
  As he proves the fact of gravity again!

But hey - I hear the phone is ringing,
It seems the World his praise is singing,
Guess what Norwegians now are bringing,
  Sir Newton, Nobel’s called, you’ve won the prize again!