This life is so lovely — I’m warm and well fed,
With brothers and sisters there’s five in my bed! My mother’s here too and she’s starting to purr, ‘Cos me and my sisters are nuzzling her fur.
Suddenly footsteps-mum’s all alert,
The door is flung open, I’m grabbed. Oh, that hurt!
My only defense is to spit and to hiss,
But I’m shoved in a box – Oh mother, what’s this?
I’m being transported, (they call it a car),
But it must be to hell, ‘cos the journey’s so far,
Oh mum what you taught me (and I know you cared)
Didn’t cover all this – Oh mum I’m so scared……
At last we arrive and I’m carried in,
The children all scream, it’s a terrible din,
1 want to be friendly but they’re frightening me
So I run off and hide under this big settee.
When things quietened down I dared to come out, But then when I did they just mauled me about, I really don’t think that they meant to hurt me, But young children squeeze hard and I bruise easily.
So I’m back in hiding, the hours drifting by, I’m hungry and thirsty and wanting to cry, I’m just six weeks old and I must have a ‘poo’, But 1 can’t see my tray, so what should I do.
The kids are all playing, Dad’s asleep in his chair, He’s put down his paper – I’ll do it on there, I do the job quickly, the kids start to scream, So I turn it all over so it can’t be seen.
The father awakes, throws his slipper at me, I have to escape, so I climb up this tree, It starts to fall over, glass balls fly about, The mother appears “Put that damned creature out!!!”.
Was it only this morning I was warm and well-fed,
With brothers and sisters and five in a bed? ; Why have I been put In this damp, dark, cold shed? THIS LIFE’S NOT WORTH LIVING – I WISH I WAS DEAD.
Dene Shaw