The She Cat

The She Cat - meaning Summary

Love and Hunger

Basho's three-line poem presents a spare, compassionate image: a she-cat grown thin from love and barley. The juxtaposition links emotional attachment and material scarcity, so the cat's thinness reads as both affection and hunger. Its simplicity and rural detail invite readers to notice small domestic scenes and to reflect on how care, poverty, and survival intertwine. The poem's brevity heightens its poignancy.