©2008 Mark A. Mandel
ttto Archetype Cafe, Talis Kimberley
Since this follows the scansion of the original, and Talis's scansion and
enjambement are famously challenging, I've put a backtick ` before
every downbeat syllable. Most lines have four downbeats; lines that
are indented with respect to their stanza have three, with a rest at
the end. Metrically, there's a hold after the fourth verse, and the
introductory line of the coda ["They'll `tell you that..."] replaces
the rest.
Here is a version without markup and with footnotes.
Py`anfar Cha`nur was de`bating with `Ambrus
The `merits of `gfi versus `klava
While Me`hitabel yawned at Pe`tronius `Arbiter's
`Tales of prow`ess as a `lover.
`Chmeee and Ba`gheera com`pared pros and `cons
Of `hunting in `dark and in `daylight
And the `Feline Fan`tastical `Fellowship `meets
Down `Archetype `Cafe at `midnight.
`Honorary `members Gray `Mouser and `Catwoman
`Pilfered from `pockets with `suavity
Un`til they dis`covered their `own purses `empty
Though `no one had `sighted Ma`cavity.
Dr. `Whom, who was `doing some `fieldwork, re`corded
The `usual `Kilkenny `catfight
And the `Feline Fan`tastical `Fellowship `meets
Down `Archetype `Cafe at `midnight.
BREAK 1
And `Bast, who was `chairing the `meeting, `gave
An im`passioned plea `for us to `hear that
"The `tailchasing
`Yammering `crabby `tomcats and `tabbies
Are `history `twisting our `tails
So they'll `tell you we `carry dis`eases, they'll `tell you
We `fly with the `devil and `more and they'll `give you a
`Shower of `rocks for `stealing their `lox
When you `just tasted `one of the `scales."
`Pixel and `Nutcase walked `in through the `wall
Just as `Greebo was `ordering `scumble
Though `Aslan was `turning the `water to `wine
For `any who `asked at the `table.
`Everyone `joined in a `song by Frank `Hayes
And a`greed that the `chorus was `just right.
And the `Feline Fan`tastical `Fellowship `meets
Down `Archetype `Cafe at `midnight.
BREAK 2
And be`fore Lady `Bast thanked the `speakers
The `questions rang `out from the `floor.
"We `challenged the `humans' per`ceptions to `change
And we `challenged our `own even `more
Oh they'll `tell you we `fly with the `devil, suck `breath out of
`Babies, and `all have nine `lives. They'll `tell you that
`Tigers are `man-eaters, `lions are `lazy and
`Leave all the `work to their `wives."
`C'mell arrived `late for the `meeting, ex`plaining
That `she'd gotten `lost on the `way
But the `King of the `Cats gave his `pardon and `said
"Now you're `here, you're no `longer a `stray."
`Faber re`marked that she'd `meant to do `that,
Oc`casioning `groans left and `right
And the `Feline Fan`tastical `Fellowship `meets
Down `Archetype `Cafe at `midnight.
CODA:
"And they'll `tell you that...
`Boots 'threw a `hairball', First `Cat 'walked a`lone',
That `Shere Khan was '`wicked', and `I was 'just `stone'."
-- And the `Feline Fan`tastical `Fellowship `eats
Of the `finest of `meats and the `choicest of `treats
And if `I weren't al`lergic, and I `knew where it `meets
I'd `book us all `tables for `midnight...
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