Fourty-one, Alone, No Gerbil

Garrison Keillor read this poem on Writer's Almanac today. It reminds me of the late great Badwater Jackson, mauled to death by the late great Peaches the cat after being set free by a strong wind toppling over the empty aquarium we left him in.

My only question is, what does the "faint powerful call" of a gerbil sound like?