Free at Last by Lynn Kargol

Racing days are over

Thought the pain would go away

But soon I learned a different fate

Was headed straight my way

He reached his hands into my cage

And pushed me out once more

I glanced at all my weary friends

As he led me out the door

It hurts to walk; it hurts to stand

Been through all I could endure

But all my pains are nothing that

Somebody’s love could not cure

I’m pushed against a concrete wall

And know I’ve failed the test

He said I wasn’t fast enough

And reached into his vest

I close my eyes and cower

I shake, my senses dull

and feel the barrel of a gun

Against my skull

Isn’t there a better way

To entertain a crowd?

But my thoughts are interrupted

By a noise so hard and loud

I’m just another failure

Racing to my final day

And even all the winners

Will lose a race someday

They call it an “exciting sport”

They say that its humane

But a sport that always ends in death

To me, is not a game.