i don t think that s always true

my master told me about prisoner ben
he s very much like me
he has a blog
and he did something bad
so he was sent to his crate
he accidentally killed another puppy
when he was 14
he s now been in his crate
for more then 30 years
when i m bad
my master is sometimes mean to me
for a few minutes
but never ever for 30 years

i think ben is a good man
he loves dogs
recently he was asked
if he d like to leave his crate
and play with some puppies
he was thrilled
afterwards he wrote

playing with a few dogs
is hardly a headline in life
except the strange and empty world
that is prison

not having played with a dog
for 3 decades
i d somehow overlooked
the toothy prospects of
2 springer spaniel puppies
when a tennis ball is
dangled before them
don t be misled
by the floppy ears and sad eyes
they can shift
- and don t let fingers
get between them and the ball

i spent about an hour
with them and a big labrador puppy
and they did run me ragged
they also gave me
a chance to step out of prison
to do something normal
such times are rare
and to be held on to

ben s also pretty smart

because he lives in a crate
he can t make great art like me
or do gardening
i don t think he s ever even killed a frog
but he has done a bachelors
and a masters degree
from inside his crate and
he d almost finished his phd
before the crate authorities
took away his word processor

people are sometimes very mean to dogs
and sometimes they re very mean to other people

ben may be a fully paid up
member of the awkward squad
but then sometimes i m a little difficult

perhaps the crate keepers can explain
why a man who hasn t committed
a violent act
since he was 14
is still in his crate
more than 20 years
after his original tariff expired

perhaps the crate keepers can explain
why they spend so much money
on dog food and blankets for him
when he could be
living on the streets
looking after himself

perhaps the crate keepers can explain
why they haven t freed ben gunn.

free ben gunn