Pet Dog’s Monologue

a poem by Pancholi Nandlal Kanjibhai

Ere becoming pets we were wolves
Roaming chainless, hunting hares
Hadn’t signed the bond of serfdom yet
Nor had learnt to fawn
Then mortgaged freedom for crumbs
Wore dog collar, the slavery-symbol
To earn accolades, learnt snobbishly
The art of detecting thefts and nabbing crime
But despite our serving him
Man was bent on our dimunitive downfall
He rejoiced to see us as bonsai poodles
And portable pocket pups. Yet he feared
In us one untamed heredity trait
The dormant volcano- the Rabies virus
Eventually that too he conquered inventing
A vaccine. Shrewd indeed shrewd! He inculcated
The virtue of loyalty in us just to
Safeguarded it from becoming extinct