Two men I saw reel from a bar <br />And stumble down the street; <br />Coarse and uncouth as workmen are, <br />They walked with wobbly feet. <br />I watched them, thinking sadly as <br />I heard their hobnails clink, <br />The only joy a toiler has <br />Is to get drowned in drink. <br /> <br />A kitten on a wall, <br />A skinny, starving stray; <br />It looked so pitifully small, <br />A fluff of silver grey. <br />One of the men came to a stand, <br />A kindly chap was he, <br />For with a huge and horny hand <br />He stroked it tenderly. <br /> <br />With wistful hope it gazed at him <br />And arched a spine of fur; <br />It licked his hand so grimy grim <br />And feebly tried to purr. <br />And then it climbed upon his chest, <br />And to his drunken glee, <br />Upon his shoulder came to rest, <br />Contented as could be. <br /> <br />The other fellow with a jeer <br />Made feint to dash it down, <br />but as it shrank with sudden fear <br />I saw the first one frown; <br />And then I heard him coarsely cry: <br />"Have care for what you do; <br />Just harm a hair of it and I <br />Will twist my knife in you." <br /> <br />So there they stood like brutes at bay, <br />Their blood at fighting heat; <br />And snarling at each other they <br />Went weaving down the street, <br />Leaving the kitten all alone <br />Upon its stony shelf . . . <br />And as I haven't heart of stone <br />I took it home myself.<br /><br />Robert William Service<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/lost-kitten/
