English Poetry. Frederick Locker-Lampson. Loulou and Her Cat. Фредерик Локер-Лэмпсон.

Frederick Locker-Lampson (Фредерик Локер-Лэмпсон)

Loulou and Her Cat

GOOD pastry is vended
   In Cité Fadette;
Maison Pons can make splendid
   Brioche and galette.

M'sieu Pons is so fat that
   He's laid on the shelf;
Madame had a Cat, that
   Was fat as herself.

Long hair, soft as satin,
   A musical purr,
'Gainst the window she'd flatten
   Her delicate fur.

I drove Lou to see what
   Our neighbours were at,
In rapture, cried she, "What
   An exquisite cat!"

"What whiskers! She's purring
   All over. Regale
Our eyes, Puss, by stirring
   Thy feathery tail!

"M'sieu Pons, will you sell her?"
   "Ma femme est sortie,
Your offer I'll tell her;
   But will she?" says he.

Yet Pons was persuaded
   To part with the prize:
(Our bargain was aided,
   My Lou, by your eyes!)

From his légitime save him, --
   My spouse I prefer,
For I warrant his gave him
   Un mauvais quart d'heure.

I am giving a pleasant
   Grimalkin to Lou,
--Ah, Puss, what a present
   I'm giving to you!

Frederick Locker-Lampson’s other poems:

1. To My Grandmother
2. Old Letters
3. O Tempora Mutantur!
4. The Russet Pitcher
5. The Enchanted Rose

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