On my way home from today
I came upon a scene so sad
It made me mad, and caused
The blueness of the sky
To grey. Today.

My neighbor’s son had caught a snake
And with great glee, he tied it to a stake
For all to see.

When it was done, with all the cunning of a ghoul
He lit a match to that poor beast
and laughed just like a fool would do
As that small, helpless form, engulfed in fire
Burned to the ground, just like a pyre.

I felt so sick at heart, I would have liked
To lick that boy, for all the part
That he had played in such
A vicious, cruel charade.

But, having done his beastly act
He paused, as if possessed by fact
That must have come from deep within
and told him of his grievous sin.

Into his eye I saw a tear appear, and
In his voice, so I could hear, he said
Oh, God, what have I done, and why?
And with that thought, began to cry.

He was a troubled lad, so sad
That I could find no words to comfort him.
His lips were tight, his face so pale
His soul so singed that
My heart twinged for him.

Yet as the night sweeps slowly through the sky
And as I wonder why that boy
Would want to hurt a harmless thing—
An old familiar ring creeps through my brain
And casts a shadow back again, to days gone by.

And I remember, as a youth
That I was just as ruthless as my neighbor’s son
But that, when all is said and done
YOU DO FORGIVE.

And as he lives, the boy next door will know this
When
He says to YOU
“I’ll never go that way again.”

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