I Am At The Mercy Of My Owner Poem by Niki Nicholas Nkuna

They say it is noble to work for charity,
Good for those with boundless energy,
They have tails behind their backs,
Tied to boundless supply of nutrients,
They know how to get what they want,
They are not caged or owned by anybody,
Their loved ones care for them,

I am owned,
Call me a slave if you like,
I was bought without my concern,
Taken away to a place I do not know,
Have no say about where I want to stay or live…,
To whom should I belong?
What food I want to eat?
I am at the mercy of my owner,

He decides what I want,
He chooses to feed me left overs,
From the dining room table,
Or buy me food meant for me and my ilk,
I'm at the mercy of my owner,

Every day I welcome him home,
With a dance and a sweet song,
All my daily disappointments hidden in my tail,
As I emphasise the reception of my king by swinging it,
Expressing honest love with allegiance,
All suspicion swept away with the flailing tail,
Sometimes I see the value of my toil,
When I receive crumps of his daily provisions
Eaten without a single thought for me,
And ready to be thrown away when suddenly I appear,
I rejoice nevertheless,
Without looking a gift horse in the mouth,
I thanked him all the time,
Junk food meant for the bin end in my mouth,
I eat whatever I'm given,
Tomorrow's meal may never come,
I learnt it from indifference feeding patterns,
And inconsistency,
I'm at the mercy of my owner,

I don't know if he does apologise for nonchalance,
Forgetting to feed me sometimes,
At times he comes home morose,
I welcome him nevertheless,
With a distant dance weary of his ugliness,
My choices are extremely limited,
I'm used to toil more for meagre returns or nothing,
Work day and night with no contract or overtime pay,
I'm always vulnerable to starvation and thirst,
I'm at the mercy of my owner,

I can communicate but I can't talk,
I need to be understood,
My constant communication with my master,
Has no like response most of the time,
He understands me least with least effort,
It is his prerogative to understand me more
If he so wishes,
He's the only one I understand more,
He's my first contact with no choice,
The first person to befriend willy-nilly,
When my former owner forsook me,
The bridges had been burnt,
I was given a one way ticket not to look back,
I'm at the mercy of my owner,

What will I choose if God gave me options?
I will choose a king that loves me,
Cares to understand me,
Who treats me differently than a garbage bin,
Washes me, feeds me food I like,
A king that gives me choices like God!

N Nkuna, 18 June 2012