For more than their dribbly eyes or droopy mouths
I love dogs
I love dogs, for more than their dog ears
They are uncomplicated
Yes, a bit conflicted
But always uncomplicated
They know how you feel
Even if you don’t want them to
You always get to know how they feel
They let you know
And quite helplessly too
Yesterday on my morning jog
I saw a dog
With a small mouth cap
And a black leash, still tied
He stood there at a crossing
In the middle of the road, wondering
Confused
Afterall, it’s a big dog world out there
And if you are on your own
A bit frightening too
But he was a brave dog
And he had decided, he was not lost
No, definitely not lost
Even if, everything around him was
A white car swerved in front
Oh! the big animal
With a bleating bark
He eyed it suspiciously
Took a step back and lunged forward
And then decided
He was going to stand his ground
The problem was
He had stood his ground
In the middle of the road
And the oncoming traffic
Soon, there were people around him
Peoply people,
Kind people, who tried to help him out
But no, he did not need help
Bloody strangers!
You don’t just walk away with anyone
It’s the dog code
A dog knows who it belongs to
And just because they’re not there
Does not mean it stops belonging to them
Besides, they smelt different
The dog would wait
It would be anytime soon now
He still could not figure out
Why people always got held up
Or lost their way
He felt the rising dread
No, they would surely come
Had he been a bad boy
Not that he could remember
Maybe yesterday, maybe the day before
He had not been this bad
No definitely not
Not to be left alone
He looked about himself
Was it this way?
Was it that?
They would come just about in time
And he would soon be on his way home
And then he would throw tantrums
It was decided then
Ah! no need to overreact
No need to Panic
He was going to be brave
And who leaves their dogs anyway
Absolutely no one
It was beyond understanding.
Somesh | Katyayan 