-->“He was abandoned like an empty beer bottle,
A cigarette butt, or a worn-out shoe.”
Dennis Vickers

It was a few days before Christmas
He was spotted in a snow-covered park
Most likely, he had been abandoned there
In the sub-zero weather, all alone in the dark

He was so frightened, so very cold, and so hungry
He was not able to comprehend, what had happened
It was supposed to be The Season of Love and Giving
And now, he was facing an abysmal and terrifying end

When anyone approached him, he would race away in fear
Several times, he had darted out into an extremely busy street
For four days, he wandered aimlessly in the sub-zero weather
Always returning to the park, still hoping his family he would see

I began following him on his lonely, terrifying, treks around the park
And I was finally able to corral him, as he trembled and shook with fear
It took more than an hour in the warmth of my car before he calmed down
It saddened me so that we can disregard and disrespect a being so very dear

He spent the next few days being cared for at the animal hospital
On Christmas Eve, my spouse and I brought him to his new foster home
This lonely, discarded, street orphan is once again being cared for and loved
But I sadly know that I will soon hear about another abandoned soul on the roam

©Christmas 2013, Mr. Ed