A brutal man mistreats dogs, while a dog speaks to the other. Here’s the allegorical poem, by Harinder, exclusively for Different Truths.

A man was walking with immense pride,
With a handsome dog on each side
As he went around the park
He rudely talked to his dogs and they too barked.
He was an ugly man wearing good looking things,
And the dogs too had expensive strings,
His forehead was marked by a frown,
And the black dog said to the dog brown,
“Our master lives alone, he has friends none.
To give him company, we are the only ones.
He avoids all men and women,
And has a peculiar aversion towards children,
His servants are like robots,
They only work, they can’t talk,
And we too don’t enjoy any special place –
We are meant to bark; we are made to chase.
Though we have plenty of food and are never hungry
Yet we want to break chains to be free,
But freedom only death can give,
And so, we have to live,
For how we can bring disgrace to our community
By leaving our master and his city
We know that we have to be faithful,
Even if the master is cruel,
And though a man can betray a man’s trust,
Be unkind, unmindful, and unjust,
We the beasts, have to show him the way,
So, we have decided to stay.”

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Harinder Cheema

Harinder Cheema is a renowned poetess and an internationally published author. Her novel, 'The Temple Stop' received 'The Best Book of the Year Award 2020' by Aghaaz, Author in You. She is the co-author of 17 poetry anthologies. Her short stories have been published in the coffee table books. Her articles have been published in various international magazines, and she has also received many prestigious honours and awards in the field of literature.

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