Just a few things I would like to say –
Thank you, firstly, for entering my life;
Didn’t think to ask your name or number,
But you’ve made your mark on me
I don’t know what it was that stopped me,
But I’m guessing it was your spirit –
As you swaddled your dog like a little baby,
You found a kindred spirit in me.
I approached you thinking I could solve all ills,
Yet soon learned that wasn’t the case;
My generous donation with directions to shelter
Fell flat on its proverbial face.
I know about bureaucracy,
With all its efficient inefficacy,
But thought I’d done this differently
By approaching you directly
I was stunned when you shot down all my solutions,
Spent weeks in a tailspin, asking why,
Can’t forget you, can’t dismiss you, can’t be blind anymore,
If only we had wings and could fly.
Now I know that no one has the key,
But maybe together we’ll find it,
If only I can just find you and your dog,
I‘ll be your best foster dog parent.
Belinda Russell wrote this poem after meeting and speaking with a young girl in her mid-to-late teens on a cold day in February. Russell will never see a person who is asking for money on the street corner the same way again.
