Monday, January 31, 2011

With Love....From a Lonely Dog by Edith Lasen Johnson



I wish someone would tell me
What it is I've done wrong.
Why do I have to stay chained up
And be left alone so long?

They seemed glad to have me
When I came here as a pup.
There were so many things we'd do
While I was growing up.

The Master said he'd train me
As a companion and a friend.
The Mistress said she'd never fear
To be alone again.

The children said they'd feed me
And brush me every day,
They'd play with me and walk me
If I would only stay.

But now the Master "hasn't time."
And the Mistress says I shed.
She doesn't want me in the house
Not even do be fed.

The children never walk me
They always say "not now."
I wish that I could please them.
Won't someone tell me how?

All I had, you see, was love.
I wish they would explain
Why they said they wanted mine,
And then left it on a chain. 


This poem has been on the side of the fridge at my house ever since I can remember, and so I decided to post this one up as my response for this week. It is one of my favorite poems because of its poignant and sad tone, yet the speaker still retains a glimmer of hope and love for his family even in his state of neglect. Unlike some people, instead of holding resentment and anger at his owners for his situation, all he wants to do is show his loyalty and love to them because he thinks it is his fault. This unconditional love I think people could serve to learn from, dogs are such great people at times. This poem also is a sad reminder of how a lot of pets are neglected, and makes me feel glad to have my pets and know that they are well taken care of. Now if you've got a dog (or more than one), go give him or her a good petting :)

1 comment:

  1. yet another example of comments not going through . . . i commented a little while after you did this and it's not here *angry face*

    ReplyDelete