oh, little dog of pity,
i have been of once as thee
cast aside, as tied to a tree
i frown on you not in spite,
nor in mercy, for to
set you free would be right
but i will not unbind you and you will not run,
even if i did, you are too dumb
you would but pant and froth and bounce
and for your master, trot patiently about
for she who scooped you up as a puppy,
only a tiny puff of cuteness fluffy
i know too well of your dilemma
i know of it, yes… am forced to remember
how it happened that once i was cute…
yet somehow, i no longer fit the suit
of childhood’s clothing and abandoned toys;
outgrew the mold of being a boy
as favored youth slips away from thee
you, no fault of your own, lose your novelty
i have been where you were, in her bed at night
i have been where you are now, seen as a plight
i have felt sweet caresses on christmas morn
i have slept in hunger amongst bristles and thorns
i too, was once fed by her hands
i too, lost my charm, upon becoming a man
a friend told me once, in a moment of truth,
that the larger things instinctively protect the youth
but small things grow up, as they always must
and fear compels them to crush them to dust
painfully, these things i have come to understand
it is not by criminality that i have become a man
but instead, it is my fortune and honor indeed
for now, of her milk, i have no need
but you, i will pity forever after
for you do not realize the cruelty of your master
and so, if i loosed you and set you free,
you would only wait for your master, beside the tree
you have grown in your body but not in your head;
you will not run away, though you will not be fed
or given water, or love, or be cared for again
as this is the way of grown dogs and men
By Magus
copyright 2018
* Author’s note: The poem is not an actual account of animal abuse but rather a metaphor about toxic relationships. The dog in the picture is Stacie and she’s spoiled rotten, so don’t feel bad for her 😉
Kevin Trent Boswell 