Vicki Raymond: The Prophet's Cat

The Prophet's pet cat slept in the Prophet's sleeve:
the Prophet wrote far into the afternoon.
The work was done: 'Sleep on, thou sluggard',
whispered the Prophet, and, cutting his sleeve,

let fall the white tent softly around the cat,
and went to prayers. This incident teaches us:
piety outweighs fashion; mercy's 
always in fashion: and, lastly, something

concerning cats, which is, that you never know
if your own might be one of that line, keeping
an echo (with what understanding?),
deep, of angelic dictation, humming.


First published 1991. Vicki Raymond (b. 1949) is expatriate Australian, living in the UK. She doesn't seem to have published a collection since 1993. The hint of British self-deprecatory caution is given some spine by Australian plain-speaking wit. Not that I can see why the story teaches us that piety outweighs fashion...