The Homeless Soldiers Friend

As he laid there on the pavement with the people walking past him Shaking from exhaustion from his lonely nightmare dreams His faithful dog sat closer, snuggled in to keep him warmer Licked his tears and laid his head upon his chest to hug him tight And the soldier's heart felt lighter and it lifted up his black fog And he reached in from his terror and felt brighter and more settled So the dog stayed in his place now breathing love and hope to his pal And through all his tortured thoughts bought the soldier to the light All the people kept on walking moving further from the soldier Gripping tightly to their children's hands to keep them well away While the dog laid with his master bringing comfort from disaster Never moving lest his master once again cried out in pain Then the light rain started falling so the dog climbed on his master To afford him some protection from the wetness and the cold And the soldier stirred beneath him, wrapped his arms about his body And the dog looked down and licked the tears and raindrops from his face As the night time darkness closed in and the people all moved homewards To their semi detached houses and their heating and their lives So the homeless ailing soldier faced another night of hunger Fear and total devestation had become his way of life In a rare and lucid moment he reached deep into his rucksack And fed his dog a biscuit taking for himself a bite Then they nestled down together on the pavement in the weather And they tried their best to make it through another dismal night. Jane Shields 09th August 2016