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Exit the games, log off the Internet,
Avert the kids vocalizing with the tv set,
Silence the ringtones and with quiet song
Bring out my friend, let his subjects say so long.

For eleven years he let me share his home,
This King of Beasts who in this place did roam.
Majestic, lazy, IQ of a gnat:
His Excellency, my "Magnificat".

I called this friend a gentle giant, because
Slow to anger, quick to eat he was:
With joyously exuberant zeal he'd greet
Each plate of food he'd been given to eat.

Big in body, big in love, this friend.
With zest for life he purred, up to the end,
But noxious tumors took his voice from me.
He lives now just in this soliloquy.

To whom did I say farewell tonight?

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    $\begingroup$ Aw man, now I'm gonna cry T^T $\endgroup$
    – feelinferrety
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 5:12
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    $\begingroup$ Maybe worth noting: As well as the work mentioned in Deusovi's answer, Rubio's poem is a bit of an homage to this rather beautiful one by W H Auden: allpoetry.com/Funeral-Blues. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 10:18
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    $\begingroup$ This is essentially exactly the same puzzle as this older one, just with a different solution. must ... resist ... urge ... to ... use ... dupehammer ... $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 12:09

1 Answer 1

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You said farewell to:

PUMA, which I assume is the name of your cat. The first stanza has all letters but P, the second is missing U, the third is missing M, and the fourth is missing A. (This is clued by "A Void" in the title, the name of a book by Georges Perec that's intentionally missing the letter E.)

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  • $\begingroup$ "Slow to anger, quick to eat he was" could be a dog, though you definitely have the right answer. $\endgroup$
    – Keyur PATEL
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 6:27
  • $\begingroup$ @KeyurPATEL The word Magnificat is in inverted commas. $\endgroup$
    – Nikhil Bhavar
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 7:14
  • $\begingroup$ @NikhilBhavar Ah, missed that. $\endgroup$
    – Keyur PATEL
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 7:33
  • $\begingroup$ So it's a lipogram? $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 10:46
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    $\begingroup$ Dogs aren't often described as purring, either ... $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Commented Aug 16, 2017 at 16:01

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