It would be easy

It would be easy

There is nothing to stop me

I could reach out

A hand

The dog looks friendly enough.

If you are kind

They will do right by you

I know that to be true

So many I have loved

Watched grow old

Laid them down to breathe their last

There is a place in my heart

Dedicated to lost things.

It is a shambles of broken

Promises

Drunken rage

Bloodied knuckles

And fat lips.

Whatever I might seem on the outside

It is armour

I keep it in place

For self-protection.

But it’s only a dog

If I say yes to one

Pretty soon

It will be followed by a pack.

They will fill every space

Loll on every seat

Adorn the sofa

Claim the bed.

I will be trolled

Followed like the Pied Piper

Trailing crumbs

Dolling out tidbits

As if I were Saint Francis.

I would free them all

Bound by a chain

Fenced in

Oathsworn to protect.

Birds should fly free

They flutter

Pointlessly

I can hear them

From here to Assisi

They sing a song

Deep in my heart.

I am nothing without order

It holds me together,

We are all just spit and sweat

When it comes down to it.

It is only the iron

In the blood

That drives me on.

But it is only a dog,

A fleepit with a warm nose

Weeping eyes

And a trusting nature.

Perhaps it knows me

For who I am,

Which is more than I do.