Luke and Old Fred
Keiran| Moyston Primary School |
Primary English | Term 1 2024
Part 1
Just born, with the rest of the litter
Warm sweet milk, not sour or bitter.
Soft whining, with his sisters and brothers
One happy pup, curled up warm with the others.
Old Fred grumbling, tired to the core
Last week his wife died, not with him anymore.
Now the noise of puppies, keeping him awake
He had to do something, he feels he’s going to break.
Part 2
Grabbed by the neck, hurled in a sack
Fear grips the puppies, light turns to black.
Sudden cold water, water all around
No air to save them, soon they’ll be drowned.
Old Fred chuckling, turning from the lake
Won’t be bothered by the whining keeping him awake.
Old Fred limping off, crooked in his back
Didn’t notice that there was a hole in the sack.
One bedraggled puppy, struggles to the shore
Alone in the world now, frightened to the core.
One little puppy, with a picture in his head
Of a limping, crooked man who thought he was dead.
Many seasons pass, and the pup’s now four
Living on the streets, not behind a door.
Roaming off his leash, he’s free as a cloud
Playing with the kids, he’s wild and he’s proud.
Old man in the park, resting on a log
Looking with angry eyes, at Luke the dog.
Luke doesn’t care, he doesn’t seem to know
The old man jumps up, he’s got somewhere to go.
Luke now remembers, the limp and crooked back,
The old man who stole his family, drowned them in a sack
Luke played with death, the first time he won
He didn’t want Old Fred to finish what he’d begun.
Old Fred is walking fast, to the grocery shop
He picks up a rope, and a big lamb chop.
The rope as a lasso, the lamb chop for bait
He knows how to catch, another old mate.
The next day Luke, with the kids in the park
Licking, laughing, chasing, running, rolling, wagging. Bark!
All he really wants to be, is free and living
He really is, all happy and giving.
The trap is now set, it’s looking fine and good
Old Fred sits to wait, on the log of wood.
Waiting for Luke the dog, to be caught by Old Fred
He will drown him in the lake, and soon Luke will be dead.
Luke sees the chunk of meat, but knows that something’s up
He will not lose this fight, he will not give up.
Luke has to play his cards right, he has to think ahead
He has a plan he knows will work, to trap Old Fred instead.
Old Fred hears some whining, he walks up to the trap
He sees nothing there, and gives his head a little slap.
What he doesn’t see, is a fierce flying flash,
Luke bounds up from where he hid, and hits him with a crash!
Paws grounded on Old Fred, pinning him to the ground
Teeth bared, eyes red, saliva flicking all around.
Luke growling deep and low, his anger and his hurt
Old Fred paralysed, lying in the dirt.
Something changed in Luke’s growl, it sounded like a whine
Old Fred heard a familiar tone, he knew this poor canine.
It’s you, it’s you, how can it be? I drowned you in the lake.
Why haven’t you killed me, why are you sad, have I made a big mistake?
Eyes meet eyes, soul meets soul
Enemies so different, two parts become a whole.
Luke offers forgiveness, Old Fred offers sorrow
Connection and friendship, they make a new tomorrow.
Part 3
Each day in the park, an old man and a dog
Sit peacefully together, on that same old log.
Showing love to each other, by a pat and a nuzzle
Two hurt, jagged pieces, completing the puzzle.
Keiran | Moyston Primary School
