The Beggar and His Dog

We are as similar as opposites can be He's short and puny, I am gangly He barks when he's happy, angry or sad Yes, he's my dog and he makes me glad He looks at me with reverent eyes As I beg before the world, for a morsel of rice He's happy even though, it's in a broken voice, I sing To him I am nothing less than a King I am dirty and unkempt, my clothes in tatters When people turn away with disdain, my heart shatters But he's blissfully unaware of my pathetic existence To him I am more than just means of subsistence He is my companion, my friend, my guide Together we surf the storms and the rising tide Of everyday life and together we survive I think, it is for him that I stay alive As the day winds down, our spoils we share In a dirty corner of a dirty street; Our lair We always eat together, never alone He always gives me the meat, and gnaws on a bone I talk to him about past's glory, and today's misery The world laughs at me and calls me crazy But he wags his tail as though understanding it all And snuggles up to me and sleeps, when night falls