A long time from now, in a galaxy very close and actually it’s just our galaxy, and not that long from now really in the grand scheme of things, is set a show known as Star Trek: The Next Generation.

There’s a cyborg (robot?) who has a cat. He wrote a poem about his cat. It must have been a fun day in the writers’ room.

I was sharing a good affectionate moment with my own cat, Samwise Gamgee the Brave, just now. And it made me remember this poem.

I now reprint without comment Data’s poem about his cat, “Ode to Spot”:

Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

Those last two lines just slay me.