Fido is Back

Remember when I used to write short stories about my fictional cat, name Fido, well he disappeared, as cats often do. But they have nine lives you know. He's shown up in my rendition of Pangur Ban.

Since the invention of the internet, there is a plethora of cat videos.  People just love their cats.  From Egyptian statues and paintings to today's cat videos, cats are shown to be much loved.

In fact, it is not uncommon, that when I am on a zoom meeting, a cat will meander in view of the camera's view.  There are also medieval manuscripts with ornate letters, beautiful colored script, yet faint paw prints running across the page.  This is what must have happened to a monk in the 8th century, who had a cat named Pangur Ban.  This monk was doing his work, and he was distracted by the work his cat was doing.  Upon reflection, the monk realized that both he and Pangur Ban, were plying similar trades. In his poem Pangur Ban, the monk compares the cat's concentrated skill to his own focused composition.

The following poem is a translation of the 8th century Old Irish poem, Pangur Ban, by the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney.  There is no way on earth that I could match Seamus Heaney in verse, never mind my cat, Fido, to Pangur Ban.  Fido is not a mouser.  He plays with the mice he catches.  Hubby rescues the poor mouse and brings it outside, to be released.  Where upon the mouse finds a way to come back in, I'm sure.  It's a version of the game "cat and mouse," but now it's "cat and mouse and human."

Pangur Ban translated by Seamus Heaney

Pangur Ban and I at work,

Adepts, equals, cat and clerk:

His whole instinct is to hunt,

Mine to free the meaning pent.

More than loud acclaim, I love

Books, silence, thought, my alcove.

      Happy for me, Pangur Ban

Child-plays round some mouse's den.

Truth to tell, just being here,

Housed alone, housed together,

Adds up to its own reward:

Concentration, stealthy art.

Next thing an unwary mouse 

Bares his flank: Pangur pounces.

Next thing lines that held and held

Meaning back begin to yield.

All the while, his round bright eye

     Fixes on the wall, while I

Focus my less piercing gaze

On the challenge of the page.

With his unsheathed perfect nails

Pangur springs, exults and kills.

When the longed-for; difficult

Answers come, I too exult.

So it goes.  To each his own.

    No vying.  No vexation.

Taking pleasure, taking pains,

    Kindred spirits, veterans.

Day and night, soft purr, soft pad,

Pangur Ban has learned his trade.

Day and night, my own hard work

Solves the cruxes, makes a mark.

Now, here is my poem, mimicking Pangur Ban.  

Fido and I at work,

Not equal, cat and clerk.

His whole instinct to hunt,

My words, alas, only to punt.

More than loud acclaim I love

Yet across my desk I shove.

Happy for me, Fido's a cat

Content to play with this and that.

Truth to tell, just being here,

Housed together companionship dear,

Adds up to its own reward-

Fido's rhythmic purrings heard.

Next thing I take the laser pointer,

His eyes open, my brave hunter.

Next thing my lines held

But my words blur and then meld.

All the while, her slitty green eye

Fixes on the laser light, while I

Adjust my glasses and gaze

At the messiness upon my page.

With her sharp, perfect claws,

Fido springs, swipes with empty paws.

When the longed-for, proves difficult,

I laugh, I enjoy, I loudly exult!

So it goes.  To each his own.

Love and fun and pleasure shown.

Taking a break refreshes the mood,

Kindred spirits, words are food.

Day and night, I stroke soft fur.

Fido rewards with contented purr.

Day and night, my own muse is chased.

Fido hopes some day to catch, not just chase.

Anyone who has ever had a cat can relate, which is why the original, found in 724, in a monastery of Benedictine monks, is still read and enjoyed.  It is written in Old Irish and found in a book containing other poems written in Old Irish, and Old German, some Latin hymns, astronomical tables, and Greek declensions.  And thirteen hundred years later, Pangur Ban is still copied and enjoyed.  For example, a cat named Pangur Ban appeared in the 2009 animated movie, The Secret of Kells.  As in the poem, the movie has Pangur Ban as a white cat belonging to a monk. There is also a chidren's book The White Cat and the Monk, by Jo Ellen Bogart and sydney Smith.  In 2018, Eddie Reader released a song titled Pangur Ban and the Primrose Lass.  Finally, I'm closing with the song Pangur Ban and the Primrose Lass by Eddie Reader.    song https://youtu.be/S9uFoUhpo28?si=aI5O0S-qoEAm_nbS