Our Beautiful Zayka
He came into our loving home as a puppy
White, furry and fluffy
Frolicking and licking, almost anything
Scared in the night, like a piglet
He slept eyes shut tight, in a little basket.
He stole away the socks
And hid em in the racks
Sneaked in some bone meat
To chew upon and grow strong teeth
He ran helter and skelter
Felling everything awry and asunder
He peed and pooh-ed all over
After all, he assumed
Theres always my little miss cleaner.
Then he trained with his potty
And gained to be all naughty
Growing up to be handsome
Began barking out to his kingdom
Along came some pretty lasses
Alas! He shooed them away.
He slurped tea out of my palm, in a curious calm
Fetched veggies from the kitchen playfully
And how he nibbled at them funnily
He loved
Coconuts, cucumbers, and carrots
Chocolates, cakes, and cookies
I always wondered
whats with the Cs?
He tucked them away, behind the cushions
And while we slept, he savored them muffins
With his tongue dripping, and the relishes slipping.
Eggs and rice for lunch it was
Boiled potatoes for dinner
Milk, water, and biscuits all day long
Yet he begged, from under the tables,
For what he thought, were tastier eatables.
He woke us up in the morns, nuzzling our moans
By climbing onto our beds and tussling our sleepy heads
Beckoning us to a bright day and simply not to lie lazy
Off we began to wallow and soon he occupied the pillow
Nestled on it his head, just as we would.
This was his precious phase, to snore and snooze
He had guarded over us the night
Like a lieutenant and a knight
So now, ring a bell or drop a vessel
This was his naptime and he wasn't going to whistle.
He sensed our moods
Our fights and laughs
And straightened his attentive ears and eyes
He wasn't going to say anything
But just be there and listen
He understood commands and obeyed them most times
You had to plead and not order some other times
Just dont forget, he is the master and also your little brother.
He hated his showers
And crawled into corners
Pressed himself against the talls
Oh! He sighed! Only if he could push
The vertices of the walls.
The festival of lights and fire-crackers he dreaded
While others celebrated, he shivered and shuddered.
He heard the gates and let out short squeals
He waited for the fuss and tickly tickles
Under the belly, the chin, or ears
Anywhere, he muffled
in a hiss
I dont care! You are home and I am in bliss!
He was mostly in good-health and spirit
Unless he played with and ate some dirt
On his rounds in the yards
Fell ill occasionally
And recovered swiftly
He was a strong fellow
And wasn't going to willow.
Only,
This time he wasn't lucky
He had a kidney faulty
We tried to save him desperately
But we lost him forlornly.
Generous, selfless
Caring, devoting
Friendly, cuddly
And yes, barky was he
Love him always, Miss him always
He is Zayka, Our Beautiful Zayka
-Revathi Raghavan, USA
The views of this column are the author's own, and do not necessarily represent the views of NRI Online.
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