Once upon a time I sat

Edna St. Vincent Millay

1892 to 1950

Poem Image

Once upon a time I sat
Making verses, while the cat,
Half-asleep against my knee,
Clawed a cushion purringly.
As I watched the moving claws,
Musing wisely on the cause—
Early habit ruling yet
In this droll domestic pet—
Suddenly I was aware
That a Cat, as well, was there,
Through the slits in his round eyes
Watching me without surprise;
Cat, whose purring seemed to say,
“Some day—some day—”