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Eternal Sleep
By
Terri Onorato |
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It wasn't
all that long ago
I ran the dusty track for show,
devoted and driven my face pierced the
wind
as race after race I fought to contend.
Slow at the turn and lacking in grace
I did what I could but I never placed. |
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I loved to
run hard and hear the crowd roar
yet those cheers turned to boos when I
didn't score.
Folks lost their money when they bet on
me
they tagged me a loser, said "Retire
number three!"
I had no idea what I was likely to find
as I walked from the track for the very
last time. |
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My person
was waiting, eyes teared and face so
long
I sensed inside the sadness that this
time I'd not go home.
I tried to change my person's mind and
wagged my mighty tail
but I knew deep down without a doubt,
like racing I had failed.
We drove along the country roads till we
came upon a town
where erected off the main drag was a
place known as the pound. |
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A pretty
woman came outside and took me from my
crate
my person signed the papers and with one
look at my face
said, "I'm sorry that I have to go and
leave you here to sleep
but you're not as fast as others, you no
longer earn your keep"
I felt my heart break into bits and
walked with head bent low
I knew that it was over and I had no
place to go. |
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Inside the
dingy building I was checked and tagged
and weighed,
a voice said, "We will put him down,
tomorrow if not today."
I heard the pretty woman state, don't
look him in the eye,
he has that greyhound gaze that says, 'I
do not want to die.""
They put me in a kennel with the others
on death row,
I lay down on the concrete and moaned so
soft and low. |
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Morning
filtered through the glass, I stretched
my weary bones
the pretty woman came to me and said,
"It's time to go."
The hall was long and stark and cold, I
did not cry or weep
I used my eyes and face and soul to halt
eternal sleep.
She tried her best to use defence and
look away from me,
she seemed to know how wrong it was to
do this deadly deed. |
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She bent
down close and held my face against her
silken cheek,
the needle entered my front leg and
quickly I felt weak.
I heard the pretty woman sob as she lay
me on the floor,
I saw a last glimpse of her face and
then I saw no more.
I may not have been the fastest dog to
ever run the track
I just wish someone had loved me so I
could have loved them back. |
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Copyright 1996-1998 by Terri Onorato.
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