It wasn't all that long ago
I ran the dusty track for show,
devoted and driven my face pierced the wind
as race after race I fought to contend.
Slow at the turn and lacking in grace
I did what I could but I never placed.
I loved to run hard and hear the crowd roar
yet those cheers turned to boos when I didn't
score.
Folks lost their money when they bet on me
they tagged me a loser, said "Retire number three!".
I had no idea what I was likely to find
as I walked from the track for the very last
time.
My person was waiting, eyes teared and face so
long
I sensed inside the sadness that this time I'd
not go home.
I tried to change my person's mind and wagged
my mighty tail
but I knew deep down without a doubt, like racing
I had failed.
We drove along the country roads till we came
upon a town
where erected off the main drag was a place known
as the pound.
A pretty woman came outside and took me from
my crate
my person signed the papers and with one look
at my face
said "I'm sorry that I have to go and leave you
here to sleep.
I felt my heart break into bits and walked with
head bent low
I knew that it was over and I had no place to
go.
Inside the dingy building I was checked and tagged
and weighed,
a voice said, "We will put him down, tomorrow
if not today."
I heard the pretty woman state, "Don't look him
in the eye,
he has that Greyhound gaze that says, "I do not
want to die."
They put me in a kennel with the others on death
row,
I lay down on the concrete and moaned so soft
and low.
Morning filtered through the glass, I stretched
my weary bones
the pretty woman came to me and said, "It's time
to go."
The hall was long and stark and cold, I did not
cry or weep
I used my eyes and face and soul to halt eternal
sleep.
She tried her best to use defense and look away
from me,
she seemed to know how wrong it was to do this
deadly deed.
She bent down close and held my face against
her silken cheek,
the needle entered my front leg and quickly
I felt weak.
I heard the pretty woman sob as she lay me on
the floor,
I saw a last glimpse of her face and then I saw
no more.
I may not have been the fastest dog to ever run
the track,
I just wish someone had loved me so I could have
loved them back.