Bagram October

A black day, late in October

I hear a cat mew

I look for it in surprise

For felines here

Are rarely seen and never heard

I turn back to my writing

The report is soon due

And I hear the cat again

Mew

The a third time it calls

More insistent than before

I push aside my computer

As I hear a thump from outside

I open the door and find face down

A man that I am sure I know

I rush to his side and try

To turn him over, but

His body is too stiff

I reach a hand to check his pulse

And find it blank

Then shift enough to see his face

Still and stretched with fear

I see my commander dead

I turn back, to run inside, report the death

But the once loose door is now jammed shut

And as I pull and pry

I hear now softer, but

With more menace

A single

Meow