The Difference
They say there’s a difference between man and dog,
We read it so often in their analog.
Yes, I agree there is a difference to be
We walk on two legs, they on four feet.
And yes, their language is barks and growls,
Yet we understand the meaning somehow.
Our language to has some meaning to them
As they answer our call and perform to our whim.
You say they can’t communicate? That statement is bold!
You haven’t paid attention to the dog in your hold.
You say we have feelings, emotions we feel,
But a dog has those to as he stands by your heel.
The feeling, emotions you claim just for you….
Why can’t you see a dog has them to?
The love that you feel, well they feel it to
And more grateful than humans to get it from you.
Classified as dumb but far be it you see,
For who tends to who and sees to their needs?
Lest we forget when our hearts break in two,
It’s two soulful eyes that bring comfort to you.
And lest we’re confused by the difference to be…
A difference which makes no difference is no difference to me.
Yes, I know a dog is not a human being
But the comparison I see still bears repeating.
A difference which makes no difference is no difference my friend,
For humans and dogs still go hand in hand.
The bond shared by each is so precious you see,
Dumb animals they’re not, they feel, as do we.
Kathy Henderson
~ The Dilemma ~
My heart is heavy on this sunny day
For a 6-month-old pup has my heart in dismay.
Perfectly healthy in every way but one,
Cancer the verdict, treatment must be done.
Confined to the leg at this point in time,
The decision for life has become all mine.
The leg can be taken and she can survive,
Disabled that’s true, but still have a life.
If kept the cancer could come back, you see,
For cancer we know makes no guarantees.
Others involved say leave it alone,
A handicapped dog hasn’t much chance for a home.
I look at this pup with her trusting eyes,
Tears sting my eyes and inside my heart cries.
The decision to make may be simple to you
But the choice must be right for the pup and me to.
I have some time before I must choose
Whether or not her leg she will lose.
Amputation is permanent but then there’s the cancer,
What do I do? I just don’t know the answer!
She’s young, she’s strong, I know she’d adapt,
To move on three legs, she can do that.
It’s her life that concerns me more than the leg,
Should the cancer return her life it would take.
The other’s say leave the leg, take the chance,
It may never return and her life may advance.
But if it should then she’s condemned to death,
For this pup a prayer’s said under my breath.
My heart is torn in this dilemma!!
I can’t say for sure, not right this minute.
The decision will be made when the time comes
And for this pup and me, I pray the right one.
Kathy Henderson
10-1998
The Key
I put a gold padlock on my heart today,
In the darkness took the key and threw it away.
Mended the tears in my heart with threads of gold
Sent from Heaven above from a dog so old.
I won’t take the chance for the tears may leak
The love he gave that is mine to keep.
His memory is tucked inside my heart to
So I can still see him whenever I choose.
He was just on loan and this I knew to
When to my home he came brand new.
As the years flew by and each one more precious
How I prayed that time would never catch us.
The pain will subside in time I’ve been told
But I have a deaf ear when pains in my hold.
So I bought a gold padlock for my heart today
For fear one precious moment would slip away.
Gold threads from Heaven to mend each tear,
Threads freely given from my old friend up there.
His days were fulfilled on earth here with me
But I know in my heart he’s waiting to see
A glint in the dark of a gold padlock so bright
For he holds the key I threw into the night.
Kathy Henderson
3 - 1999
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