April 11, 2013
Saga of the Stray
I saw a weary dog on the street today
A new puppy had been born to the stray
It had just opened it’s big eyes to see
Everything around him and me
I looked at it and gave a smile
But it’s body was still pale and fragile
Soon he began to roam on the streets
Without road noises his day was incomplete
The pup grew to love his surroundings
Bricks and car tyres were his new findings
The passersby fascinated him beyond measure
He held on to everything like treasure
One day the pup saw another like him
It’s fur, brushed properly and trim
It was being walked by a posh human owner
While the stray pup looked on, like a loner
The sight of the rich dog made him sad
For he was not just as royally clad
His spirit was uplifted by his mothers presence
From her, he had learnt life’s hardest lessons
The stray decided to not lose grit or heart
For no force on earth could set them apart
No matter how badly destiny treated them
They had the will to overcome every problem
However, one morn, he woke up all alone
Nothing was with him except a leftover bone
His mother had fled far and away
With the pup, forever, she had not wished to stay
Tears of sorrow flowed like a stream
The pup whimpered, but wished to scream
The dog had to now endure reality’s harsh blows
He was free; yet insecure feelings in him arose
Survival became challenging and was no longer a game
His lack of skills put himself to shame
He knew not how to procure water or food
About his misery he began to brood
He has been hungry since the past few days
Of his life, this definitely is the worst phase
Starvation and thirst weakened his bones
Everybody ignored his insufferable moans
He wished he could find a loving home
Humans he could finally call his own
No matter how hard he tried to please
The people on the streets in their fancy Capri’s
Nobody looked at him more than twice
Their cold stares, to stop his barks, would suffice
His filthy fur and unkempt looks
Could not get him on anybody’s good books
Little boys mercilessly threw stones at him
To properly stand, he soon became unfit
His appalling appearance drew girls away
They detested dogs that were dirty and stray
Adults ignored and walked past the dog
Some shoved him away like a petty log
The little dogs big heart began to break
So much rejection he could not take
Was he not fit to be someone’s pet?
About his plight, he began to fret
His body was overpowered by hunger and pain
He was physically incapable of tolerating such strain
Eventually his remorse turned into hate
He has been cruelly treated by fate
No longer would he be kind to the human race
He wished to see them tremble at the sight of his face
Humans must pay for the dog’s misery
He was unwilling to undergo more drudgery
He barked fiercely at every passerby
Growled enough to force children to cry
Bit at the ankles of every little boy
Human skin and bones he ventured to destroy
He was feared by the entire neighborhood
Yet no person, from any home, gave him food
Hunger made the dog more savage
He began to live on bits of garbage
Loneliness slowly demented his mind
He nursed an insatiable animosity towards mankind
He lost no opportunity to torture them
Soon enough, his existence in society, became a problem
One night in his sleep the dog was injected
From this world he was meant to be ejected
He was put under the mercy of a cruel vet
The dog, it’s life’s end, soon met
That was the end of the stray dog’s story
Devoid of any type of glamour or glory
Hence, yet another animal, succumbs to human pressure
Just to make our society more healthier and fresher
This dog’s death acts as an open testimony
Of human cruelty and our hidden hypocrisy
When are we going to reveal our true selves?
But we, always in our ego, choose to dwell
The more we attempt to preserve nature
The more we are seen murdering every other creature
We say all animal lives are valuable
Yet beat them down as though they are malleable
We set up sanctuaries and zoos for them to live
But more harassment to them we give
We try to exhibit our false love towards wildlife
But easily watch animals be slaughtered by the knife
We import exotic dogs from around the world
For us, our indigenous species appear absurd
While on the street we flaunt our ‘foreign treasure’
Strays experience grief on an intensity hard to measure
Population of strays in Bangalore increase by the day
Their wildness causes great human dismay
Our mistreatment is the sole cause of their plight
Hence they have become sources of fright
It is lack of our love that makes them wild
When will we stop making them feel exiled?
Compassion, after all, can tame them in a profound way
And we can soon rewrite the saga of the stray
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