A perspective of life through the eyes of a stray dog in an urban train station as he contemplates pausing time and the context of what would happen if he could do so
Note: Here's a fun thing to do: try reciting/reading the poem to the tune of the first two stanzas from When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2! Just a random thing I noticed :) Enjoy!
If I could ever pause time,
I would finally catch a butterfly,
I would run as far away,
From this gloomy station.
The station clock above is majestic.
From a distance, I can hear it tick,
Wielding power over everything –
Trains, passengers, and officials.
If Father Time could stand still,
I would finally have my fill,
I won’t have a single worry
About survival, food and shelter.
But irony strikes one fine moment,
Time for me has always meant
This unchanging train station –
My home since forever.
I peer at the scheduled trains,
So many different lanes!
I wonder where everyone is going,
I’m stuck here all alone.
P.T.O
The people seem to zip past
In the carts that go so fast.
“Filthy dog, move away!
We have somewhere to be.”
Every day is one big struggle,
So many problems to juggle,
And my dotted skin is thinner.
Oh Lord Hunger, I bow to you!
Station Master gives me the kick,
Tonight, I’ve only my paws to lick.
I wander along the alleys of my city,
And gaze up above.
Does time stop for the stars?
They don’t seem to move too far –
Dancing in the moonlight,
Resting in peace in the clear sky.
Do I need to pause time?
The station after all is my shrine.
It seems to halt time for me anyway,
Slowing everything down.
In the midst of my epiphany,
I am awoken by a cacophony.
“Wake up!”, says Father Time,
The station clock has struck midnight.
In my beloved station, I realize,
Time can’t be gagged otherwise
I’ll be trapped in this perpetual struggle.
Will I die in this long and cold night?
I rise up through the cracks of the platform,
An officer approaches me in bright uniform.
He flicks a cookie towards me,
And I tell myself, “Not today.”
