The old boy got loose.
Strained at that chain for years;
He heard the barks of others,
wanted to know, to taste, to play,
& be free

Then one day, it happened.
He broke his rusty chain
& ran–
forgetting his bowl of easy food;
His pan of clean daily water.
Determined to experience everything,
feeling like a pup again.

He just kept running &
smelled everything,
licked everything
met many others
boogied together
with drooling doggy smiles,
He even growled a bit,
–getting into a scuffle or two.

Soon, he felt bone-tired,
wasted, tapped out.
He remembered and missed
his old yard,
his familiar bowl;
And even his human’s deftness
to scratch him just right.

His running had become manic
until even his smile hurt,
& his feet began to bleed. 
He stopped atop some railroad tracks.
He could no longer continue. 
The old desperado whined.

So he lay down
unable to stand,
his pads were raw meat.
Age had betrayed him.
All he could do
was lie there panting,
dreaming about home.
Then a roaring noise–
louder, LOUDER,
a loud whistle,
then, THUMP.
He was home.
All dogs go to heaven.

Er, wait a dog-gone minute.

Ending 2:
 
Upon some railroad tracks
He could run no longer, 
The old desperado could not even walk,
So he lay down spent
unable to stand,
His pads were raw meat.
His age betrayed him,
so he lies panting,
dreaming about home,
he was famished.

All of a sudden, a man
saw the old tired dog,
noticed the dog’s feet
a mass of festering wounds.
He mused to himself,
How much like the dog
he had been after his divorce
from a marriage that seemed
a prison of pain,
but like the old scallywag,
almost run himself into the ground
From exhilaration 
of wanting to experience
Life and love afresh.

Fortunately, the ragamuffin had a collar
so, the dog got his human back.
He had an adventure and a lesson.
He almost died a renegade.
However,

Providence is merciful to dogs and humans.
So, both found their way back to their earthly homes.
Heaven could wait.

 

© -- Limericist 2008