Who will shed a tear for me?

Who will shed a tear for me as I am put to sleep?

Not you, the one who bred me, even though I earned my keep

Not you, the one who bought me, he’s a fighter it was claimed,

I tried so hard to please you, my body now so maimed.

 

No good to you, you pass me on, from hand to hand I go

Trying oh so very hard, it was not to be so

You see it’s just not in me, it was a family I needed,

To play, to love, to run with joy, oh how I begged and pleaded

 

With eyes so full of sorrow, but my looks they let me down,

They come, some stop and look at me, and then I see the frown

The scars, they show, but they can’t know, the dog I am inside

Why won’t they look beyond my skin to see how much I’ve cried

 

For the life I should have had, oh lord how I have wept

For shelter, kindness, safety, all promises not kept

So as my barred door closes, for this the final time,

I give a last small whimper, I beg, I plead, I whine

 

Please hold me as I slip away, it means so much to me

To feel some love, however small, as you now set me free

To run in fields so green, so lush, with streams to frolic in

With friends, with love, with happiness, on earth I couldn’t win

 

(Wendy Smith)