“Blind Tom” Meets “Dog”
“I’m tired of pulling this load every day.
I’m tired of being a horse.
I’m happy to meet you, I would say.
But my horsey voice is too coarse.”
“I gotcha, Mr. Horse. I’m so done being a dog.
I’m hungry all the time. Mealtime is a slog.
For just one day, I’d like to play.
“Fetch” sounds so good! I wait for that day.
“You’re a dog. I’m a horse.
We’ve both got four legs, of course.
But our fates are very different.
Our purposes, diverse.
Being a horse or a dog—
I wonder what is worse?”
“You’re Blind Tom, you fool. At least you have a name.
I don’t. I’m nameless. ‘Hey Dog,’ they exclaim.
My masters are many. My admirers are few.
The Railroad needs you but I’m as useless as a barren ewe.”
“Your man’s best friend! That’s never been my role.
You have a place at man’s side—that makes you whole.
I’m one step removed. A worker at best.
Sometimes I’m transportation. But the railroad is a test.
It’s over. I’m toast. I’m glue. The die is cast.
They won’t need horses. Those days are past.”
“Listen, Blind Tom. You’re a legend in your time.
You’re needed. You’re a fixture. And a worker on the line.
Your energy, your drive, your will to succeed
Are admirable, wonderful. You’re a great steed indeed.”
“Thanks, Dog. I hear you. I thank you for your trust.
I hope I live to see the end before I bite the dust.
This Railroad may be the death of me. One way or another.
But I will always think of you as a friend and as a brother.”
NOTE: Blind Tom was a real horse who pulled flatcars for construction crews on the Transcontinental Railroad
Hi. I’d like you to meet Ariadne. She’s the one on the lower left of the book cover. Curly red hair. Yup. And a little surprised. She’s the only character who is not a heavenly being. Or at least she’s the only non-human because the devil is not heavenly. He’s a jerk and hasn’t been in heaven in a long, long, long time. The story was that he was one of the angels but he did something so bad that he was banished from heaven. Don’t you like that word? Banished. It’s so final!