Cats of Cyprus
John Claiborne Isbell
The cats of Cyprus congregate
in street and alley. You will see
them early and will hear them late.
Their Cypriot democracy
has lasted some two thousand years
since St Helena brought them in:
they killed the snakes. And in arrears,
the people now will put a tin
of food out for each hungry cat,
to pay that debt. They do not look
unfed, untended; though not fat,
they’re healthy. If you have mistook
your universe for all there is,
observe the cats go on all fours
through life, amid our edifice,
our bustle, past the walls and doors
we find important and correct.
Tabby and tortoiseshell and white,
they saunter by, their tail erect
or stretched behind them. In the night,
they yowl, they prowl, they own the town.
By day, they bask in sun or shade.
You’ll see them up, you’ll see them down,
amid the jungle we have made.
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Fliss: Greetings, John! And here we are again.
Word-Bird [singing]: Here we are again! Happy as can be! All good pals and jolly good company!
John: Here we are again indeed! And the company is splendid!
F: Very much so, John! And moreover we’re in Cyprus. I haven’t been here before, but W.-B. was able to rev up the WM van and bring us all over from England and France. It’s interesting to read that St. Helena brought cats to the island. Was she a saint of cats or did she have a particular liking for the feline beings?
J: Here indeed we are in Cyprus! This is St. Helena, mother of Constantine, who apparently shipped a thousand cats to Cyprus to deal with the snakes. She was a busy saint, also interested in finding pieces of the Cross as I recall. So in Cyprus she is forever associated with cats.
F: That’s a lot of cats! It’s impressive that they were able to kill the snakes. That’s worthy of tins of food, we think. How many cats do you think you saw while there? And were they hanging out in groups or mostly solo?
J: I’m not sure that we saw a thousand cats, but I would say we saw over a hundred, mostly solo, as is the way of cats, but sometimes in company. And we heard others!
F: A chorus of cats! Back at home, we often hear a little cat-music at night. A hundred is a good number. And we like the thought of the somewhat hidden world of cats, of all animals, as they go about their lives. Tabby, tortoiseshell and white... do you have a favourite cat breed, John?
J: Ah! My aunt used to say she liked all dogs, and I suppose I like all cats. I likely prefer random tabbies to purebreds though. I am someone who values a certain amount of simplicity in nature.
F: Hooray for cats! The random tabbies sound fun. I met one once, a pleasant character who used to enter the Winchcombe Garden and sit with me on one of our wooden benches. Unfortunately he or she lost a leg one summer, most likely due to a car accident, but was still able to get about on three. Have you experienced any well met moments with cats, John, over the years?
J: At the moment, we have no cats or dogs, with our ongoing traveling, but we know several cats on different continents, including Shadow, Zorah, Seulki, Silvio, Kusuma, and Calliope. They are uniformly splendid beings, though Calliope likes walking down the length of your torso at about 3 a.m. without retracting her claws! She is just getting comfortable. We also know two dogs named Ollie of whom we are fond.
F: What wonderful cat and dog names, John! I remember your telling me and W.-B. about the early morning experiences with Calliope the cat.
J: Yes, Calliope is a fine cat who is very fond of people.
F: Excellent! Now, to the rhythm ‘n’ rhyme! We have tet here, we think, and the rhyme pattern ABAB, etc.
J: Yes, you are quite correct, this is tet rhyming ABAB and so forth.
F: We like the sprightliness of the tet here. Did you consider other meters for the poem, or did this seem a good fit?
J: Tet seems good for cats! I also have a fair bit of rhyming couplets among my cat poems. That may just be how it worked out. But it feels apt.
F: Apt indeed; and is this poem in a particular MS, maybe?
J: Ah! This happens to be in Trial by Ordeal, which is entirely in rhyme.
F: We wish you well with it, John! Now, shall we find somewhere to sit and do a little cat-watching? W.-B. will be safe if she can perch on a tall tree nearby, we think.
J: A tall tree sounds well advised! And a fine spot from which to see the cats trotting about.
F: Hooray! It‘s always fun to cat-spot as they cat-trot. We wish you every success with the MS!
J: Splendid! Many thanks, Fliss and W.-B.
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John Claiborne Isbell is a writer and now-retired professor currently residing in France with his wife Margarita. Their son Aibek lives in California with his wife Stephanie. John’s first book of poetry was Allegro (2018); he also publishes literary criticism, for instance An Outline of Romanticism in the West (2022) and Women Writers in the Romantic Age (April 2025), both available free online. John spent 35 years playing Ultimate Frisbee and finds it difficult not to dive for catches any more!
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