El arte de darle nombre a un Gato

Es imposible pensar en T.S. Eliot y no asociarlo con sus pasiones felinas. Su mirada, ciertamente,  fue de gato: observó en lo más profundo del ser humano su esencia y no perdió un sólo detalle a distancia. 

Por lo pronto, comparto con ustedes uno de sus poemas, que es de mis favoritos.

The Naming of Cats

T.S.Eliot

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

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Cierto, nada más complicado que decirle a un ser que tiene vida y personalidad propia que llevará un nombre que le has asignado. ¿Por qué Jack? ¿Por qué Morgan? Tienen alma de pequeños piratas, así los vivo yo. Con su indescifrable sonrisa nos hacen creer que han aceptado su nueva definición, cuando en realidad han aceptado convivir con nosotros, dejarse querer y abrir un poco de su maulladora existencia frente a nuestro limitado y humano ser.