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T.S. Eliot - Macavity: The Mystery Cat

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw--
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime--Macavity's not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there's no on like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime--Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air--
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!

Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly doomed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square--
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!

He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's.
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair--
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!

And when the Foreign Office finds a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scap of paper in the hall or on the stair--
But it's useless of investigate--Macavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
"It must have been Macavity!"--but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,
Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macacity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibit, or one or two to spare:
And whatever time the deed took place--MACAVITY WASN'T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!

Added: on November 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 AM | Viewed: 30034 times | Comments and analysis of Macavity: The Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot Comments (25)


Macavity: The Mystery Cat - Comments and Information

Poet: T.S. Eliot (T.S. Eliot Art)
Poem: Macavity: The Mystery Cat
Volume: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
Poem of the Day: Apr 6 2008

Comment 25 of 25, added on December 3rd, 2008 at 10:01 AM.

The interesting part in the poem is how a cat is just like a crook and does the vanishing act everytime and is far away from the scene of crime.It is wonderful to see the cat is wonderfully human.

devicka arora from India
Comment 24 of 25, added on November 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 PM.

I've always loved this poem by T.S. Eliot, ever since I was a little child. It is one of my absolute favorite (as a matter of fact, I own the book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats") that I could still cite most of it from memory and I now share with my students. However, I have to comment on whomever posted this, for he/she failed to check the spelling. There are many spelling errors!

S.T. from United States
Comment 23 of 25, added on November 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 AM.

i read it when i was a kid and enjoyed it thoroughly and now as a mom i often recite it for my daughter

mohika kohli from India

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