Guest at the Gate: Bruno

It was monsoon night, around eight
I heard a 'Ddhap' sound on the gate
Was a bit unusual,
Can't be man,
May be some animal
Scared inside, made myself to find
Saw a hungry and sickly dog, behind
Opened the gate and got him to shed
Offered some milk and bread

He wagged his tail and done with the meal
Expression in his eyes were easy to feel
He sneaked to the corner, slept for night
Next few weeks, he was out of sight

One winter day, he rushed into my garage
Scared to death and deprived of courage
Chased and attacked, by a pack of mongrels
Was also beaten-up by some idiot scoundrels

He had bite wounds, skin torn and bleeding
Looked at me shivering, limping and pleading
We gave him shelter and some food
Put one blanket, to make him feel good

He was skimpy and eyes were sunken
Scared out of wits and terror stricken
Someone told me,
He was abandoned by his master
For poor fellow,
My garage became his shelter

Dogs were not allowed in our home,
but nevertheless,
My wife reserved an ear for
needy and helpless
We bathe him next day, dressed his cuts,
Nursed his wounds and filled his guts.
In few days,
He regained his confidence
Retrieved his prudence
Looking healthy and happy
Playful and Naughty
Became centre of our attention
A topic for family to have everyday discussion
We started missing him,
when he use to go out of sight
Quite often he became,
a cause of our fight
No one realised,
when we started loving him
No one realised,
When he became a comrade of our team

Once, a Guest at the gate,
Now, Mr Bruno is Host at the door