Cats - A Retrospective

I believe to have one dog is better
than a hundred thousand cats, I believe
whatever anybody older than me says

except my older sisters who know nothing
and our neighbours, the Mc Devitts,
who have far too many cats.

I believe what Mum and Dad,
my teachers and the priests
tell me is right and that,

believing them, I’ll be right too.
I believe there’s a right way of doing things,
I believe in the essential beauty

of the thing done right and in always,
always doing the right thing.
I believe any job worth

doing is worth doing well,
I believe that God’s a Catholic,
that he’s everywhere, I believe

it will be twenty years
before I hear the thing
about the many ways

to skin a cat and I
believe that even then
I’ll wonder which one’s right.