Prayers

                         The Prayer of the Cat

Lord,

I am the cat.

It is not, exactly, that I have something to ask of You:

No - 

I ask nothing of anyone -

but, 

if You have by some chance, in some celestial barn,

a little white mouse,

or a saucer of milk,

I know someone who would relish them.

Wouldn't you like someday

to put a curse on the whole race of dogs?

If so I should say,

Amen.

“Prayers from the Ark” is so interesting! I am not much of a fan of poetry, but I think that it is pretty ingenious. The author shapes each prayer to fit the creatures’ habits and behavior, like the cock’s prayer read in class that seemed to breathe the proud strut of the rooster. While the poems all reflect the different characters of animals, I can also see a little bit of myself in each, though that is not always good thing.

When praying, sometimes I feel like the cat. I say that I do not want anything, but I feel that there is an ulterior motive sometimes, like if I make the question small and unimportant it will have a better chance of being answered. I beat my inner self for this, kicking myself for having wants for myself. But, perhaps that is what is needed sometimes. The cat, an independent, is asking for help much like we need sometimes.

Not only is there this illustration of asking for our needs but also for the wants that will never happen. I had to laugh a little bit at the cat’s final words, “to put a curse on the whole race of dogs.” It is like the perfect conclusion; I won’t deny my nature to dislike dogs and while I know you will never do this…pretty please?