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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


FEMME ET CHATTE by PAUL VERLAINE

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: O SHE WAS PLAYING WITH HER CAT
Subject(s): ANIMALS; CATS;

She was playing with her cat
and it was a marvel to see
the white hand and the white paw
fighting in fun in the evening shade.

Inside her black cotton mitten
she was hiding - the scoundrel! -
her murderous nails of agate,
cutting and clear like a razor.

The other one, likewise feigning sweetness,
had retracted her steely claws...
But the devil saw it all...

And in the boudoir, where his floating
and sonorous laughter rang out,
four points of phosphorus were shining.




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