I started out in a place where no one wants to be.
Locked behind bars.
Confined to a cage-like shelter.
A place where all hope is lost.
On one particular evening,
I was just lying there
Minding my own business
As my kind like to do.
A woman was there too.
All dressed in white,
Needle in hand.
“This will be quick,” she said
As if I haven’t heard
The stories.
I knew that as soon as the point touched me,
I would be gone for good.
She was inching closer now.
I braced myself for
The end
When suddenly,
I heard other voices.
Squeaky voices.
Kind voices.
“Is this heaven?”
I asked myself.
But no,
I was still alive
Thanks to a little girl
With long brown hair.
She didn’t know it then,
But on that day,
My life had changed.
She saved me.
And I owed her from that point on.
I lived with the girl’s family for the next 12 years
Watching her learn to walk.
Learn to speak.
Grow up.
I was always by her side.
Sleeping next to her each night.
Following her each day.
In return,
I got food,
Shelter,
Even brothers,
But most importantly,
Love.
And even as that little girl
Became a young woman,
She never forgot about me
Nor did any of her family members.
So it’s with a heavy heart.
That I finally say
Goodbye
And as the tears stream down her face
I comfort her as best as I can
Even though I am frail.
She gives me one last hug and kiss
And says goodbye as I walk with another man.
All dressed in white.
Needle in his hand.