Old Scrapyard Spike

Look through the fence, you see that beast there?
  That tense lump of muscle and mange-ridden hair?
That's old Scrapyard Spike, and this is his lair;
  Don't tread in his yard on adventure nor dare.

Old Scrapyard Spike, he's been a-weathered for years;
  In his chain-link domain, rain-soaked despair.
Unfed in the morning, watered only with tears;
  Unsheltered from squalls, corroded by glare.

Now poor Scrapyard Spike wasn't always so old,
  When he was a puppy, they told him they loved him;
But when he grew up, he had to make friends with the cold,
  For with the clink of a fence, he was thrown out on a whim.

So Spike spent his days alone with his chain;
  He sweltered at noon and slept wet with the rain;
And all those who passed him discounted his pain:
  "He's just an old cur" was the daily refrain.

And then one cold day, a girl found her way in;
  Her flesh on her bones, blood coursing unspilled.
Old Spike smelled her first, his chain went a-slitherin'
  And the lost child stood rooted, her every nerve chilled.

The silence of metal, broken plastic and glass,
  The beast came a-running, his chain length a ploy;
And jaws opened wide as he lunged for the lass;
  But when his head pressed her thigh, he whimpered with joy.

Old Spike raised the call with a manticore's thunder;
  A summoning cast with his lungs' every strain.
She petted him gently, whose care she was under,
  Though his poor heart convulsed as he looked back at his chain.

The clangor succeeded, a blue-clad protector
  Saw the beast at her heel, and he drew as he lept;
An ounce of hot metal found Scrapyard Spike's skull,
  And the last thing he heard was his friend as she wept.

Reviews

[ANTO]

Mr C - I was coming to the end of this and I was cussing you - I love dogs (more than people maybe) and I was cussing you for bringing me into this yard of cruelty and neglect. Then when the end came I stopped cussing you and the realisation that you were telling a story of kindness sank in. Im sorry for making an assumption about this poem (and by extension you) -

[Cambion]

Thanks, ANTO. I always try to bring attention to neglected animals when I detect neglect. Poor Spike here is our hearts, which would gladly take a slug in the dome for a millisecond of true love.

[ANTO]

so with you on that man ...
so with you

[Johari]

How have I only just found this? So bittersweet, I really like it and the fact is not as simple as it might first appear. Bravo.

[Robert Robbie Lord Dudl..]

Symbolizing boys and dogs do not get away from work

[Samuel Dickens]

Aw, crap. This reminds me of something that happened when I was a kid. Very fine writing, even though it ended with a sob.

[Cambion]

Thanks for reading!

[Fran Marie]

This is a wonderfully penned ballad;albeit sad. Spike at least felt the touch of kindness before his demise..great tale..

[Bare Trees]

Ouch! what an ending. I love poems that tell a story. When I was young, I remember seeing an old dog that used to be tied up to a doghouse at a cabinet making place. I felt terrible for him. He looked skinny although they fed him. He wound up having some kind of disease and he wasted away although they all loved him. Good poem.

[Cambion]

Thanks for reading! (my last message seems to have gotten corrupted by a script crash or something)

[Bare Trees]

That happens once in a while. I keep getting ads that pop up on my page.

You're welcome.

[Vanesa Markovic]

Jesus.
That ending was depressing.
I...I have nothing.
De-press-ing.
Haha.

[Cambion]

Imagine all those romantic Spikes out there who went to that eternal scrapyard in the sky without ever once having nuzzled the thigh of true love. That's what really chokes me up to think about. I think this poem is dedicated to them (O life, let it not be dedicated to me at last).

[Vanesa Markovic]

I latched onto the death, a pessimist to my core.
I suppose your insight has brought some light into an otherwise dark and gloomy after feeling, but I'm still upset about the boy :(
I'm not mature enough for anything outside of the Disney happily ever after, it would seem haha
-VM

[Matching Socks]

This tugs at every chord in my heart.
I hate seeing animals abused and neglected.
The ending choked me up.
Well done.

[Cambion]

Thanks Ana, I knew you were a kindred soul. I love animals as much as I love myself and never dismiss them as worthless and bereft of souls. Who am I to say who has a soul? Any ounce of empathy should tell people that animals are more than objects. Thanks for reading!

[Cambion]

I think it'd be awesome for David Lewis Paget to read this. That guy knows his stuff! I dunno if he accepts read requests, though, and I wouldn't want to trouble him. My list is already up to 12 and I keep reviewing but the pile don't shrink.

[Matching Socks]

Maybe send a message?

[Cambion]

I've learned to refrain from directly messaging famous people. I'm really quite new to social media and still learning the etiquette.