A housecat writhes
On my laptop as I write
Its tongue reels out
Again, and again
As its head bobs over its coat
The cat does not clean
Because it likes the taste of fur
Were that the case
The cat would clean more
Than it sleeps or eats or purrs
No, the cat savors washing
Because of what follows
Because of what is left behind
In spite of the bad taste
The sheen, the gleam, all things made new
Watch a cat gnaw
As it purges its hind claws
The vicious joy in the effort
The fiery passion for purity
Sharp teeth taking away the dirt
So it was in the days of Noah
So it was later in Sodom
So it was at the sack of Samaria
So it will be when the Son of Man comes
O, to be left behind
Oh, to be left behind!
Peter’s takeaway from Jesus’ warnings about “end times” just days prior to the Passover.
Peter was wrong about a great many things; I fancy that, this time out, he was paying a lot better attention than most of us do.