ALLEGORY Poem: Allegory of the Dog, by Joseph Garrison

Sometimes I wish that,
I were born a dog,
the breed wouldn’t matter.
I just feel like I would be
treated better by humans.

Dogs are mistreated by people,
but so are other people,
and most often
it’s done at the hand
of so-called loved ones,
or caregivers.

The difference being:
If you’re a dog,
and are beaten,
tortured,
and mentally abused,
when you become defensive,
and bark,
someone might understand,
and try to love you back to life,
at very least you might find yourself
being euthanized,
and the pain would end.

But not when you’re human.
You will be persecuted when you
advocate for yourself.
People will use your justified
emotional responses against you,
so they can continue their neglect.

Neglect is a form of abuse,
and silence is complicity.
One thing is for certain,
you can count on both,
from the human race.
But understanding,
and real love?
That’s something
You won’t get
unless you’re
a dog.