You're right about the blurred vision! What a touching story and poem. Thanks for sharing it. 
I guess I would have to go back to Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by TS Eliot for my favorite poems. I just love "The Naming of Cats is A Difficult Matter." Too long to reprint here, but here are four lines:
"The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
    It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES."