The Greater Cats






The greater cats with golden eyes 
Stare out between the bars. 
Deserts are there, and different skies, 
And night with different stars. 
They prowl the aromatic hill, 
And mate as fiercely as they kill, 
And hold the freedom of their will 
To roam, to live, to drink their fill; 
But this beyond their will know I: 

Man loves a little, and for long shall die. 



Their kind across the desert range 
Where tulips spring from stones, 
Not knowing they will suffer change 
Or vultures pick their bones. 
Their strength's eternal in their sight, 
They rule the terror of the night, 
They overtake the deer in flight, 
And in their arrogance they smite; 
But I am sage, if they are strong, 

Man's love is transient as his death is long. 



Yet oh what powers to deceive! 
My wit is turned to faith, 
And at this moment I believe 
In love, and scout at death. 
I came from nowhere, and shall be 
Strong, steadfast, swift, eternally: 
I am a lion, a stone, a tree, 
And as the polar star in me 
Is fixed my constant heart on thee. 
Ah, may I stay forever blind 

With lions, tigers, leopards, and their kind. 



Victoria Sackville-West