In My Days Of Despair Poem by P K Joy

Many friends I had
In my good old days.
Drinks, eats, games and songs
to heart’s content they enjoyed.
Visits were frequent,
Evenings were long,
Hospitality lavish
And my esteem avowed.

Only one friend I’ve today
And that’s my dog Tony.
He’s always beside me,
Concerned with my welfare.
The poor beast now and then
Looks at me and whines.
His whining carries several questions.
I stroke him with unspoken answer.

His first question to me is:
‘where are all those friends
Who used to frequent this house
To enjoy when your days were good? ’
Unspoken I answer while stroking the beast:
‘Innocent animal!
Man’s friendship is proportionate to
What he gets from the friend’

If I give a spoken answer,
My eyes will let out rivulets,
And my sobs will indeed
Make the dog more sad.
Yet, when he isn’t near, I cry.
I cry to vent, lest I should burst.
How ingrate and insincere
Is this human world?
`
When my business failed
And all my money I lost
Lavish entertainments stopped
And friends stopped their visits.
No enquiries, not even phone calls.
Tony being close to me has
Comprehended the changes.
Insincerity he detests.

When my days were good,
Tony acted grandly
To impress the visitors that
In all my matters he had a say!
He loved good food. I fed him aplenty.
He enjoyed comforts
And my nightly hugs, to complete his day.
Now I’m a pauper
I can’t even feed my dog.
Tony knows my situation.
So he’s finding his own feed.
When he comes back home
I look at him with grief.
He would console me
By softly licking my feet.

Tony’s love hasn’t changed.
He would sit with me now
For longer than before
To ensure I’m not left alone.
In return he expects nothing more
Than my permission
To rest his head on my foot
And to look at me and moan.