The cat`s Paw

 

The cat`s Paw

Ποιητικός αντίλαλος στο γνωστό διήγημα "The Monkey`s Paw" του W.W. Jacobs,

set to video music with ΑΙ (SUNO, DALLE-3)

 

The Text set to music:   https://youtu.be/8bnA-aqAT2A  

 
[Verse I]
 
In a room where the fire burned hot and bright
three souls hid from the rain of the night,
a soldier returned from a land far away
with a withered cat’s paw and a warning to say:

[Pre-Chorus]
 
“Three wishes it grants, but hear me well,
this gift is crooked, it crawled out of hell!”

 
[Chorus]
 
Oh beware what you ask for, beware what you pray,
for the magic you summon may take more away,
gold may glitter, hope may draw near,
but every wish whispers: "The price is here".
 
 
[Verse II]
 
They laughed it away, let the first wish be spun,
“To end all our sorrow, to be safe, to be done.
“Fifty thousand,” they cried, “let our troubles be gone!”,
as the shadows grew long and the fire burned on.

 
[Pre-Chorus]
 
In his palm the paw shivered, it twisted, it stirred
Iike a spell half-awakened, a blasphemous word.

 
[Chorus]
 
Oh beware what you ask for, beware what you pray,
for the magic you summon may take more away
what you gain in silver, you lose in the soul
and the debt of a wish is fate’s final toll.
 
 
[Verse III]
 
The morning brought sun, but no warmth, no relief,
a man from the mill spoke softly of grief
“An accident,” he said, “your son is no more!”
and silence fell heavy like stone on the floor.

 
[Verse IV]
 
The gold came at dusk, left cold at the door,
fifty thousand for blood on the factory floor,
under pale moonlight the mother cried
with a sound that tore heaven open wide.

 
[Refrain (soft, lament)]
 
What is gold when the child is gone?
What is wealth when the light is done?
 
 
[Verse V]
 
“The paw!” she cried out, “There are wishes still left!
Bring back our boy from the jaws of this theft!”
The father stood shaking, his courage undone,
for he feared what returns when death has won.

 
[Bridge]
 
From the earth came a knocking, a hollow, dead sound,
from feet that remembered the way from the ground,
it grew into thunder, a merciless beat,
not the step of a child, not the sound of the sweet.
 
 
[Verse VI]
 
With the bolt nearly drawn and the mother’s last cry,
the father reached out, let the final wish fly:
“Let the silence return, let the dead stay away.
Let the knocking dissolve like mist into day.”

 
[Chorus (final, subdued)]
 
Oh beware what you ask for, beware what you pray,
for the magic you summon may take more away,
love and longing are never free,
when fate is the hand that holds the key.
 
 
[Outro]
 
The door opened wide—only darkness remained,
the road lay empty, the night was unchained...
Remember this tale when desire takes hold:
A wish paid in magic may cost you your all!
 
 

The original Text:

 
In a room where the fire burned hot and bright
three souls sat sheltered from the rain of the night,
a soldier returned from a land far away
with a withered cat's paw and a warning to say:
 
"It grants you three wishes, but heed what I tell,
the magic is twisted, a gift straight from hell!"
With a laugh and a shrug, the first wish was cast
for silver and gold, to make poverty past.
 
"Fifty thousand," they cried, "to pay as well for our home,"
while shadows danced dark on the ceiling's high dome,
the paw gave a shiver, it moved in his hand
like a serpent that’s stirred by a wizard's command.
 
The morning brought sun, but it brought no delight
for a stranger appeared, a terrible sight.
"An accident," whispered the man from the mill,
"Your son has been taken, his heartbeat is still."
 
No gold could replace what the machinery tore,
but fifty thousand was left at their door,
in the silence of grief, under moonlight so pale
the mother cried out with a heart-breaking wail.
 
"The paw! There are wishes! Oh, bring back our boy!
Bring back our Robert, our pride, our only joy!"
The father, in trembling, made the decree,
though he feared what a corpse from the graveyard would be.
 
Then came the knocking—a soft, hollow sound
from feet that had risen from deep underground,
it grew into thunder, a rhythmic, dead beat,
the sound of a son who was no longer sweet.
 
With the bolt nearly pulled and the mother’s wild cry
the father reached out for the last wish to fly,
he wished for the silence, for the dead to remain,
for the knocking to vanish, like mist in the rain.
 
The door swung wide open, the darkness was vast,
the road was all empty, the shadow had passed...
Be careful of longing, and fate's heavy toll,
for a wish bought with magic may cost you your all!

2026©G.Tzivras