Truth and Beauty
 

   Pax  

by   D. H. Lawrence

 

All that matters is to be at one with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.

Cat at peace on a chair

Like a cat asleep on a chair
at peace, in peace
and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,
at home, at home in the house of the living,
sleeping on the hearth, and yawning before the fire.
 

Sleeping on the hearth of the living world
yawning at home before the fire of life
feeling the presence of the living God
like a great reassurance
a deep calm in the heart
a presence
as of the master sitting at the board
in his own and greater being,
in the house of life.

 


(From
The Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence , by D. H. Lawrence) 

 

Comment 

All that matters is to be at one with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.

Cat and child friendship

I had a couple of very good friends in childhood, but in many ways my closest companion was a calico cat named, Kitty Kumbah (a singsong name made up by a four-year-old me). She saw me through my parents’ divorce, through a disorienting move from Oregon to Southern California, and along the bumpy road into adolescence. She sat patiently listening to my talking and tantrums. She slept on my bed each night and, in fact, gave birth to a litter of kittens right on my belly. When I was 16, Kitty Kumbah died in my arms, having carried me safely through my childhood.

feeling the presence of the living God
like a great reassurance
a deep calm in the heart
a presence

What I remember most was how she taught me meditation, stillness, poise, contentment, and the importance of a well-chosen seat. She taught me pax… peace. That cat was my first spiritual teacher.

Like a cat asleep on a chair
at peace, in peace 

 

 

Reference: http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/blog/2009/05/13/d-h-lawrence-pax/