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Lampo the Traveling Dog

Lampo

At the train station in Campiglia
Within sight of Elba Island
Stands the statue of a mongrel
A mix of a something Highland
The statue shows Lampo just sitting
His right paw aloft as if to shake
And facing the train tracks he watches
Just thinking which one he might take
Beloved by every railman
And those who rode Italy’s rail
Lampo the famed riding dog stands
And this is old Lampo’s sad tale
He came from the states in the 50s
To Italy so goes the tales
He lived a life that was quite different
The dog loved to just ride the rails
Now how he got left in Campiglia
The writer of this doesn’t know
The railmen there at the station
Simply let him come and go
Somehow he got to know schedules
Could tell a slow train from express 
He managed to go some place each day
But where it might be was a guess
He always made sure not to go far
And to catch an connector each day
That took him right back to Campiglia
And he never once lost his way
Lampo – which means flash of lightening
Made over three thousand trips
Each day with everyone watching
Into a train car he slips
A station master in Rome once
Called Campiglia to see if he
Should put Lampo on the right train back
But Campiglia said let him be
So Lampo sat watching the trains run
Picked one and climbed on aboard
That evening he’s back in Campiglia
His reputation then simply soared
After that there was no stopping
This traveling dog or his fame
And tied to his collar were train stubs
Of all of the train station names
And you know this dog was quite friendly
And always knew which cars were best
To get a bite or to get petted
Or simply to just take a rest
Only once in eight years did he slip up
Asleep he just missed his last stop
But back tracking he finally got home
As train upon train he did hop
This feat said those local railmen
Could only be done by a man
Who had held a printed timetable
Of those trains right there in his hand
Ironically the four-legged hitchhiker
Died under the wheels of a freight
The kind of train he had avoided
As if maybe knowing his fate
It happened right there in Campiglia
The old dog had been feeling ill
He needed a boost from a trainman
He wanted to ride the train still
Nobody saw the dog jump off
As onto the train track he lay
But after the train left the station
Poor Lampo had just passed away
He stands guard now there in Campiglia
Silently watching the trains
The poor dog has not been forgotten
For always his memory remains.

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