Poem: Dignity at the End

Dignity at the End

After sixteen years you had

Had enough

Of the aching bones

Forced baths, shivering

Greasy water and grinding pellets

With rotten teeth.

The rumors and late night whispers

Had started,

The muffled curses

Of those who once cared and played.

The morning light was now just a chore

For the hazed eyes.

Even the squirrels outside

No longer excited longing

Or urgent delight.

After sixteen years, shaking

In the windy cold November afternoon

You saw the opportunity,

Gate ajar

To leave it all behind

Some final strand of curiosity perhaps

Or perverse whim

Like peeing on the rug

In defiance of all convention.

Out and down the street

In shabby dignity

Alone

With infected ears

Stiffly you nosed the wind

And a completely unfamiliar

Future.