Uploaded on October 18, 2011
See the kitten on the wall,
Sporting with the leaves that fall,
Withered leaves, one, two and three
Falling from the elder tree,
Through the calm and frosty air
Of the morning bright and fair.
See the kitten, how she starts,
Crouches, stretches, paws and darts;
With a tiger-leap half way
Now she meets her coming prey.
Lets it go as fast and then
Has it in her power again.
Now she works with three and four,
Like an Indian conjurer;
Quick as he in feats of art,
Gracefully she plays her part;
Yet were gazing thousands there;
What would little Tabby care?
—William Wordsworth
Favorite Poems Old and New
edited by Helen Ferris
10.18.2023: I was surprised when I looked at this again: is that a mouse? Had I seen it all those years ago when I took the photo? I must have, since “mouse” was one of the tags I included with the image.