A Dog On Three Leashes Poem by Dr Ronnie Bai

Standing in front of my study window
I could see outside on the sidewalk
A large dog, quiet and friendly,
A cross of Labrador and husky
Walking down the road stately,
Unaffected by the three tightened leashes
Jointly held in the hands of two puttering young boys
And an old lady almost straining to sustain
The pulling power of the family pet.

From which house up the road the dog came
I had no idea;
The boys and the old lady, too,
Looked unfamiliar.
But the dog seemed to know its way,
To the ground as it lowered its head
Following the faint scent still lingering in the air
Which it must have left behind on a previous day.

As the scuffling footsteps came near and near
I suddenly thought of my big German Shepherd
Who would bark at any sound of disturbance,
To himself audible only,
Made by his own kind that to him showed no fear
And heeded none of his snooping warning -
Busy were they off to a blithely walk on their brisk way.

Anticipating an imminent issue of my dog’s anger,
I saw the group come to a sudden stop -
An abstract look of integrated horror, hate, and pain
Shot across the old lady’s face
As toward my house
She darted a quick glance.

It took a while for her to steady her stumbling foothold,
And then she said something in a low voice
To the two disappointed boys,
Whose little reluctant arms swung wide
To turn the obedient dog around.

Back up the road they were gone.
I left the window and marvelled.
At the way our human life
Is regulated by the animals we keep
For a peaceful neighbourhood.