Hear my silent voice, ancient as the wind and land
Yet I, a simple beast, reveal the deepest heart of Man.
Most noble of all creatures great and small,
incapable of speech or guile,
I alone the only friend to Man, ever faithful,
never failing all the while.

My only role,unchanging through all time
to serve him who created me and mine.
A lower god 'twixt Heaven and earth,
of all God's blessings I became
Man's friend, protector, and earthly angel first.

Though innocent of sins or shame,
yet I would bear the pain for those of Man
in cruelty toward me and countless others at his fickle hand.
My noble mind and voice, though silent,
speak with soft intent;
reviled by few, loved by some, known to all
in God's firmament.

Before my flight from earthly realm,
Thy will be done in earth and Heaven,
and neither life nor death itself
defeat my firm devotion given.

Yet, hear a humble servant's plea:
to be with Man my only prayer, to serve my only destiny.
For if the earth and all within shall pass to none
and justice reign at last,
then I and Man shall dwell as one, united as in ages past.

I am Dog: the crowning jewel o'er every worldly treasure,
my dignity a lyric deep beyond Man's clever count and measure.

Yet I alone have stayed the course of nature's path
'til Man arise from selfish dream to know me as I am,
at last...

copyright 2000 Douglas Henninger