David McLansky - Dog at the Pound

I could not rescue you my friend
Though you curled around my feet;
I could not give you home and rug
After weeks of cold and sleet;

The man who saved you from the road
And washed your bleeding paws
Saw the nature of my present dog,
His jealousy, his snapping jaws.

So small the heart of dog and man
That though my love be boundless,
Hatred rules the narrow soul,
Although their fears are groundless.

David McLansky

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dog-at-the-pound/