Tommy And Dribbler Poem by Suu Casey Young

Tommy was four, his dog Dribbler was older,
daddy said, by a couple of years.
He was the goofiest dog you ever did see,
and had the funniest, droopiest ears.
Mommy had named him Dribbler as a pup,
‘cos he dribbled every time he'd smile.
And when Tommy and he got to wrestling,
Dribbler seemed to smile all the while.

Four years old Tommy’s world,
was soon to fall apart.
For there is no cure known to man,
for a case of a broken heart.
Dribbler, his bestest friend, was ill
and the Vet wanted to take him away,
but Tommy cried, and then he begged,
for mommy to let Dribbler stay.

Daddy and mommy whispered,
so Tommy couldn’t hear what they said.
But Tommy wasn’t in his room,
he was lying with Dribbler instead.
“You know we can’t let the dog suffer,
but how can a four year old know,
that the only way to stop the dog’s pain,
is for us to let Dribbler go.

Tommy didn’t want Dribbler to go anywhere,
but decided, if Dribbler went he'd go to.
Now although Dribbler could hardly stand,
he did what Tommy asked him to do.
The lights of the house were still in view
when Dribbler began to stumble.
Tommy begged the dog to keep going,
until tears caused Tommy to tumble.

Old man Wright was walking his dog,
when he heard an unusual noise.
He stopped to listen, and cussed a bit.
No doubt it was the Johnson boys.
But his terrier whined and gave a yelp,
kept tugging to be moving on,
but when old man Wright found Tommy,
old Dribbler was already gone.

The days seemed to pass slowly.
Tommy hardly ate, and cried at night.
His parents thought of the options
but only one that seemed to be right.
Tommy found a puppy crying,
it was so small in Dribblers big bed.
The minute he took it in his arms,
the fear and loneliness fled.

Tommy whispered and cuddled gently
until he and the puppy were asleep.
It was only then that his parents,
into the back room did creep.
Tommy awoke at their gentle call,
“Mommy, ” he smiled, “look see.
Dribbler didn’t won't me bein' lonely,
So he sent his baby to play with me.”

There isn’t a cure for a broken heart,
though you wish on the sun, moon or star.
But a new love will help heal the wound,
leaving only a learning scar.
Now Tommy is older than his new dog
who he named Chuck after old man Wright,
and to see that boy and puppy wrestle
is a battle scarred heart warming sight.