An Ode To A Street Dog

By Tathagata Chakrabarti

I roam the streets aimlessly

With neither wonder nor care,

Of humans and their society

I stay out of their hair.

I keep to my kin and kith

Of friends and family,

I dare not enter a human house;

Lest things turn really ugly.

I scavenge food to quash hunger

I drink from a gutter when thirsty;

Some call me unwanted, some call me a pariah

Some call me downright nasty.

The world is my playground

My home, my place to sleep;

I pay no taxes neither a heed

To prices running steep!

My world has no anxiety

I need no consultation;

Of doctors, healers, and strange men

I need no visitation.

I am a dog who roams the streets

My heart has joy and glee,

That I am not a big part

Of your defunct society.

You give me food and biscuits when

You need a pic for Instagram,

You think you love me, more than your own;

What a folly, what a scam!

You fight wars to end humanity

In name of worthy causes

But all you do is destroy yourselves

And we end up with losses.

So spare me from your folly schemes

Of shackled joy and warming hearts

For you love not even your own

Your hearts are filled with poison darts.

So let me be the street dog

Call me when you are done

When you can embrace your fellow mankind

And make them your own.

Till then goodbye, I shun your home

Your false comforts and lies

I am happy with my gutter

And garbage dump full of flies.

Heed my message though, and repent

Mend broken humanity,

Lest all is lost, and I remain

To offer you only pity.

By Tathagata Chakrabarti