Through the eyes of a cat having seen war,
Deep dark halls of affliction with no exit door
Absorb every soul that happens to be
Empathic like you or incautious like me;
Cry honey cry, never spare your tears,
This cat had lived for three or four years
Before he came through where a great many died
Under heavy shellfire coming in from each side;
He’s a wretched survivor, just one of the few,
To the secrets of cats it can add nothing new,
Yet it renders him mute for his usual meow,
And it makes his voice human forever from now,
So perfectly proper for stories to tell,
That begin with the words: War is hell, total hell…