Thanks so much, NER, and welcome to Pet Talk!
Originally Posted by NER
This poem was written by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer and was apparently published in Ms. Magazine in May 1975. The title is "Jubilate Agno: Thomas Cat." The poem was written in homage not only to her beloved cat but also to poet Christopher Smart (1722-1771), who may have been mad. His famous poem Jubilate Agno [Rejoice in the Lamb] praises the many virtues of various animals. The longish section about his companion cat begins:
For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
Susan Fromberg Schaeffer (March 25, 1940 – August 26, 2011), according to Wikipedia, was a noted novelist and poet who was a Professor of English at Brooklyn College for over thirty years. She won numerous national writing awards and contributed book reviews for the New York Times.
I love Schaeffer's modern version, which I found among my mother's papers only as a faded photocopy, now hard to read. I was looking online for the text when I found your old post. Thank you for sharing it!
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