Poem by Neil Ellman

Dalí’s Cat

As you might expect
Dalí’s cat is quite invisible
or a visible figment
of his imagination
within a dream
inside a paranoiac paradox
seeming real enough
to be a cat
but something more or less
perhaps
the primal , libidinous urge
of an ocelot
scratching at his eyes
perhaps
the furry, phallic truth
of the inevitability of decay
in a world gone mad
perhaps
a memory tenacious
and persistent
from a prior life
in another universe
perhaps
a cat, a Siamese or lioness,
and nothing more or less
perhaps
Dalí’s cat
is what you make of it.

Neil Ellman is a poet from New Jersey who has published numerous poems in print and online journals, anthologies and chapbooks throughout the world.

Julie Marie Hoey has been painting and writing since she was a young child. Her works are based on her connection with nature, relationships and spiritual reflection. She has exhibited her poetry alongside her paintings in several of the many solo and group art exhibitions she has participated in since the late 80’s.