Normally I’m only gone for a day.
climb the fence, cross the field,
I’m up, out, and away.
Because I was lost
and couldn’t find my way,
a human took me,
thinking I was a stray.
My collar, lost, high up in a tree
is nowhere to be found
by anyone but me.
Locked up in a metal cage,
I am taken to a place
with other pets that act strange.
When humans visit,
they are sweet and kind.
Me, I growl and hiss and whine.
For, I know that I have a home,
with an owner who is scared
I’m by myself all alone.
Watching day by day,
they are taken by the humans,
some with caring families,
others by execution.
Never to return again
I’m worried my time might come.
Unless my person is smart enough
to find out where I’ve run.
A couple days pass
and she walks through the doors.
My eyes open wide,
and I stand on all fours.
Now that I’m home
and away from that squalor,
I’ve learned don’t go out
if you don’t have a collar.