They Left Me Here

I didn't quite fit in, you see
I was different from the rest
I didn't look like my parents, not me
and the buyers would see only the best

So just before dawn they drove me here
before the sun had crested the rise
and in the tall green grass the man left me
in the meadow, 'neath fathomless skies

As he turned and strode to the car
I stood trembling, sniffing for his scent
I was so small I couldn't see very far
I couldn't tell which way he went

On clumsy legs I started after him
but I was only just learning to walk
my small, shaky limbs betrayed me
I fell, then sat up, and spoke puppy talk

A couple of barks to call him back
because I've never been on my own
away from my mother and "puppy pack"
I'm just a pup barely three weeks grown

I grew quiet when I heard the engine start
with a sigh I knew they were not coming back
there was no hope left I felt in my heart
for the puppy who pure blood did lack

My mom had taken good care of me
I had a soft coat that gleamed in the light
a cold, wet nose, and a little pot belly
and puppy-blue eyes that shined bright

I was taller and larger than the rest
and I had bigger than normal paws
that's what set me apart from the "best"
no one would want the puppy with "flaws"

As the sun splintered the gray up above
and bathed the valley in columns of gold
I sat alone and apart from all that I loved
in the warming morn, I shivered with cold

In the stillness I could hear a burbling creek
I turned toward the sound and crawled
my mouth felt dry, I was growing weak
but with each step I'd stumble and fall

The day wore on 'til the sun was high
I was hungry and needed to be fed
and then I heard two voices draw nigh
I stopped panting and lifted my head

The man and woman spoke soft and low
as they headed for the slow moving stream
they were my only hope, I had nowhere to go
so I howled loud in my best puppy scream

I wondered, since I was never lost
did that mean I'd never be found
but for me, I was free, there'd be no cost
find me! I'm over here, please look around

Finally they heard my cries of distress
they then ran toward the frantic sounds
to find me howling deep in the grass,
a fawn shadow, in the shadows on the ground

The woman lifted me up and into her arms,
next to her heart I rested my head
You're safe now, you'll come to no harm
I wagged my thanks, then to sleep I fled

I awoke in a sunlit room, in a new place
with the folks who would be my new kin
the lady held me up and gazed in my face
I squirmed and this caused her to grin

The man was somewhere behind me
And I heard the clink of dishes and cans
I wriggled, and turned myself 'round to see
the dishes of food and warm milk in his hands

The man and his wife were years more wise
than the two who rescued me in the glen
and it didn't matter to them, my size,
for I was just what they wanted, and when

~*~*~

Copyright © 2004 by Selah's human