Greyhound Poem by Geoff Hutchings

Geoff Hutchings the actor who died last year was a greyhound owner and wrote this poem about his first hound Daisy , you may know him better as Mel in Benidorm


DAISY

Whoever it was that so ill-treated you;
Whoever it was that raced you with a broken leg;
Who left you with the vet,
Crippled, alone
And never came back.
I thank.



Whoever it was that made you cower and whine;
Whoever it was that undernourished you
So that ribs and spine,
Showed in a way
They should not do.
I thank.



They could never have known
That out of cruelty and fear,
You'd find a home with us,
"Wee, sleekit, cowrin'" Daisy dear.



They wouldn't recognise you now.
The baleful look at table end
The pricked-up ears, the scything tail;
The confidence, the growl, the bark?
The sneezing, snarling, silent grin;
The trophies won.
Conquering A-frame, mat
and tunnel, straight and bent.
Success retrieving articles
Pretending it's not by gaze but scent.



They'll never have the chance to see
The lady of leisure,
Languishing on her back
With legs akimbo.
Nor the manic, helter-skelter chase
Of a thousand imaginary hares.
Like a child's balloon
Released, before it's sealed
And losing all its air.



They'll never know.
And never shall they know
That so much pleasure came
From so much pain.
Their loss. Our gain.



*** Geoffrey Hutchings, Actor and Animal Lover, 1939 to 2010 ***

That sent a shiver down my spine. Beautiful!

Lovely heartfelt expression