A Donkey's Burden Poem by Philip Carter

My eyelids are drooping low
Like the awning of a shop
The legs are feeling heavy
My body is fit to drop
If only I could rest a while
And stop climbing this steep hill
But this is the life assigned to me
So climb it I always will
The heavy load upon my back
Seems worse with every stride
And with the sun up in a cloudless sky
From the heat I cannot hide
Maybe I'll get some water
Before my next trip up that hill
But will we stop there long enough
For me to get my fill
It will be many hours
Before I have a chance to eat
So up this hill I travel
To save a tourist's feet
I had a dream of flat land
With a carpet that’s so green
And others that are like me
With no tourist to be seen
Is this place just a dream?
A place that all invent
Or a refuge for the weak
A sanctuary that's heaven sent.