Our Dog Mickey
- a Poem
- by Jayasankar Krishnamurty
Unannounced, he arrived
One summer day in 1953.
So hungry he could hardly stand.
A little brown pup
Weakly wagging his tail.
One ear upright
And the other askew.
White patches on his feet
And on his chest.
Lapping up a saucer of milk.
He stayed on that evening,
Playing in the back lawn.
Can we keep him?
Please, Amma please?
Amma reluctantly agreed.
He loved us all, but Amma most,
Watched her puja from afar.
Gradually creeping closer
Attracted by the smell of food,
Hoping to get a share in the offerings.
On Diwali day in 1966, the noise and the smoke
Made him run away, never to return.
Unannounced, he had come thirteen years ago;
Unannounced, he left us for ever,
Going we don’t know where.
As used in the composition, Amma is Mother in more than one Indian language and Puja refers to the act of worship.
Jayasankar Krishnamurty
from Geneva, in Switzerland, is an economist and economic historian who lives with his wife in Geneva. He was educated at St Stephen's College and Delhi School of Economics. He retired as a Senior Economist with the International Labour Office in Geneva.
