They Walked their Dog (standard:poetry, 195 words)
Author: clark, susan	Added: Aug 15 2003	Views/Reads: 3527/0	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The author learns a neighbor has committed suicide.

They Walked their Dog 

The Jack Russell terrrier strained at the leash, 

I set down my groceries to chat. 

"How is your son?" I asked. 

"My son is dead,"was the reply. 

His boy was 25, 

The mother told me, 

"He jumped from the 6th floor of the Metro in San Francisco." 

"He had been in jail." 

Their boy was blonde, 

I remember his when he was little. 

He played with the neighborhood boys. 

But this boy was different. 

His eyes saw something else. 

They had a faraway look. 

He rode his tricycle down my street. 

His face contorted in pain. 

His eyes fixed to the distance. 

Trouble was on the horizon. 

Then drugs. 

And solitude. 

And paranoia. 

Halfway houses. 

Jails. 

Curbs. 

Nowhere to go. 

He jumped. 

His parents walked the dog. 

His father said, 

"I respect his choices." 

My gut told me to say, 

Why didn't you help him? 

What kind of parents are you? 

He was only 25 

You are walking the dog. 

And your son is dead. 

How dare you say, 

"I respect his choices." 

HE WAS YOUR SON!!! 

If I had bought tomatoes, 

I would have thrown one right at them. 

SPLAT 


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