Today’s poem is one that as an animal lover, I couldn’t help but feel especially passionate about.  Although this poem focuses on replacement, the fact is that every year many animals are abandoned to the streets or shelters after becoming unwanted by their owners.  These animals, don’t deserve to be left out in the cold but many times when a small puppy or kitten is initially bought as a gift, the owners don’t realise how difficult it will be do look after them as adults.  Every year people are asked to not buy a pet ‘just for Christmas’ but now, since the pandemic there are worries that the same is happening now.  Many animals, dogs especially, were bought as companions during the lockdown, but when restrictions were lifted or when the animals grew up it seems that some are now being abandoned and it’s such a sad thing.

I hope you like this poem .  I wrote it some time ago but my sentiments on this issue have never changed.  Although the poem is not really a cheerful one, it does explain the reality of abandonment.

The Tremble of My Soul

©The Strawberry Post

Alone I sit lost and cold,
Bones and skin, growing old.
I wait for you, night and day,
To once again run and play.

Forget the chill, let it come,
Mind and body make it numb.
Take away the pain and fear,
In my heart your cold, sharp spear.

Too late for fix or mend or heal,
No longer do I want to feel.
You do not care, life you shatter,
To you I really do not matter.

To think you were my very best friend,
My life now here is at an end.
One day I hope you’ll stop and see,
What happened when you replaced me.

-Review first appeared online February 2017 – now republished here.

Do you like this poem?  How do you feel about animals being abandoned during difficult times?  Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂