Carly's Story

She was nineteen,
and he brought me home to keep her company.
She had a big belly,
and she decided to feed and walk me.
This thing came home,
it was small and cried and I didn't want to leave it alone.
Another one came,
and I felt the same.
We moved from place to place,
sometimes I ate lipsticks,
sometimes I hid in the chair and sofa space.
I ran away.
That was a bad day.
When I came back they loved me that little bit more.
They rode me like a horse, though it hurt my little legs, I liked it.
They dressed me up.
They brushed my hair.
I was always there.
I slept at the bottom of their beds.
When he heard I was dead
a little bit of him seemed to die with me
this dog's life was the best he could give me.
I reflected their childhood in my eyes.
I was a little scrawny surprise.
I used to put up my paw.
But one day I just had to collapse on the floor.
And when I closed my eyes on that final night
Something sunny went out of the light
and I saw them cry but not hold each other;
they wouldn't feel the same grief till they lost their mother.
I witnessed it all,
the rise and the fall
of the family.
The houses and fights and the sadness
I hid behind the sofa during points of sheer madness
And I ran up to them all.
Jumped up, gave my paw, rolled over
I couldn't have been better had I been called "Rover".
A mongrel from a shop window,
I was a dog that showed some children to grow,
I comforted her in the screams of the night
I made sure he was in bed and alright.
I watched over these friends,
Through storms and around the bends,
Until my legs gave way,
And I was unable
I was unstable and old
Truth be told,
I'm still watching.