Blog Intermission (entr’acte) No.16 - The Cat and the Sun

Maurice Carême (1899–1978) was a francophone Belgian poet. His style was natural and simple. He wrote his poems using the language of colors, nature and light. They were in turn cheerful and melancholy. Many of his poems are studied in school as he wrote children poetry. Carême’s work can best be described with the word “light.” From 1933 to his death he lived in a house, shown below, in the town of Anderlecht, now the westernmost municipality of Brussels, Belgium.




This house, which is called “La Maison Blanche” (the white house) is now a museum dedicated to Maurice Carême. Last June I wrote a post about a “béguine house” located in Anderlecht, see the post here.

Sunset over the Golden Horn, Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian-Russian, 1817-1900

Le chat et le soleil

Etude de Chat, Suzanne Valadon, French 1865-1938

Le chat ouvrit les yeux,

Le soleil y entra.

Le chat ferma les yeux,

Le soleil y resta.

Chat couché, Théophile Alexandre Steinlein, Swiss-born French, 1859-1923

Voilà pourquoi, le soir,

Quand le chat se réveille,

J'aperçois dans le noir

Deux morceaux de soleil.

- Maurice Carême

British Short-Hair Cat, Jacqueline Gaylard, British contemporary

Translation -

Painting by Joseph Mallord William Turner, English 1775-1851

The Cat and the sun

Chat, Suzanne Valadon, French 1865-1938

The cat opened his eyes,

The sun entered.

The cat closed his eyes,

The sun stayed.

Chat sur Coussin, Théophile Alexandre Steinlein, Swiss-born French, 1859-1923

That's why at night

When the cat wakes up

I see in the dark

Two pieces of sun.

- Maurice Carême

Chat sur la Balustrade, Théophile Alexandre Steinlein, Swiss-born French, 1859-1923

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Note: Blogger Break - Post pre-programmed. Top picture is our cat Cody, and below is our Korat cat – her name is Mitsou.