I did what they told me to do.
Now, alone in this night, I pant.
Strapped in a harness, I can’t move.
I used to roam Moscow’s streets.
 
Now, alone in this night, I pant.
Why do these men punish me?
I used to roam Moscow’s streets.
They gave me a name and fed me.
 
Why do these men punish me?
I bark, I howl. No one hears.
They gave me a name and fed me.
I’m drowning in hot air.
 
I bark, I howl. No one hears.
This is my reward for obeying.
I’m drowning in hot air.
As Gregor shut the hatch, I licked his hand.
 
This is my reward for obeying.
He praised me often. He said farewell.
As Gregor shut the hatch, I licked his hand.
I hear my breath trapped in the dark.
 
He praised me often. He said farewell.
I smell hot metal and tires, the junkyard.
I hear my breath trapped in the dark.
If only they would let me out.
 
I smell hot metal and tires, the junkyard.
I’d run, faster than my heart knocks.
If only they would let me out.
When I see Gregor again, I’ll bite him.
 
I’d run, faster than my heart knocks.
I will roll in soft snow, cold and wet.
When I see Gregor again, I’ll bite him.
All the other dogs failed the tests.
 
I will roll in soft snow, cold and wet.
Strapped in a harness, I can’t move.
All the other dogs failed the tests.
I did what they told me to do.

Note: The first animal to orbit Earth, Laika was launched into outer space in November 1957. She died after several hours from stress and heat, although Soviet scientists initially claimed she lived for days in space.

—Previously appears at Franklin-Christoph dot com as one of five Merit Award winners in the 2007 Franklin-Christoph Poetry Contest; republished here by author’s permission

Pat Tompkins

lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her haibun and other poems have appeared in Contemporary Haibun Online, Modern Haiku, Frogpond, bottle rockets, Haibun Today, KYSO Flash, and other publications.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Little Arrows in Haibun Today (Volume 9, Number 1, March 2015)

⚡ A Brief History of Animals in Space by Tara Gray (1998), archived at the website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)