Thinking About Getting A Dog Poem by Raymond Farrell

Today
As I sit
Under the locust tree
Alone in China
I reflect
On the dogs
I have had as pets
How they became
Part of the family
Their loyalty and affection
Unattached to any desire
To get something in return
Unfaltering and without guile
Perhaps, after I get back home
I'll get another dog
I usually get one
From the local animal shelter
I hate to see them put down
I'll go, as before
And move back and forth
From pen to pen
The frisky ones
Will try to draw my attention
The down cast ones
who were dumped there unceremoniously
Will look up
Not expecting much
It's like
They've given up on humanity
And who can blame them
The old and abandoned
Often can only manage a glance
Now that I'm getting older
I can relate to them
Thrown onto the scrap heap of life
With a thud
Which one of the lot I'll choose
When the time comes
Is hard to say now
But which ever one it is
I'm going to give them
A good home
You can be sure of that!