Often on my path I chance to meet them, These positive, these righteous folk. I gaze at them in amazement: How perfect they manage to be!
This righteousness shines through and shows itself In every word and in their gaze, Those who walk through life with confidence, It seems that sin holds no sway.
Sin will shrink back from their righteousness And yield to them the way ahead. It simply looks on in amazement At these other—perfect—souls.
Yes, they are flawless in all things, Clear-eyed and steady in their step. Over their own faultless speech They keep a most devoted watch.
Never will they judge another, And they won't let others judge. Positive their lives and fortunes are, So that nothing could be better.
All so perfect, all so sweet, They show no fear before the mirror. Not a wrinkle mars their garments, Dirt won't cling to their soft hands.
Dust will never settle in their clean homes, Lace curtains, geraniums in bloom. All is in its perfect order, Not a speck of dust. Life flows.
What has been will always be—simple, No questions, no dark spaces linger, All transparent and quite readable, Without errors, without a smudge.
How perfect everything in this brief age! Positive in all things, all "fives" and praise! What gift could one give such a person? What could one wish or give to them?
Should I—tattered, sorrowful cur, Lonely, scarcely alive— Come near to them and ask them: What made me to become like this?!
So they'd toss me some small morsel, Then step back with disgust and disdain, Hugging their own little dog close— Matchstick-paws, an angry look...
Should I beg among "the righteous," Waiting for their kind words to fall? Need their approval, their good opinion, Become one of the well-behaved dogs?...
My hide is worn and scarred abundantly, My gaze is piercing, penetrating. Perhaps I look quite miserable, Yet I grow more alive each day.
I have always been cast out by all, And beaten much by "righteous" folk. But I have something: I have an Owner, I hear His voice when He speaks.
I am alive, I serve and bark, I bare my fangs against my foes. Sometimes I even keep the rhythm, Can even manage to make rhyme!
I am endlessly loyal to my friends, Though few they are, they do exist. I am faithful, though I've known deception, And betrayals beyond all count...
Far from righteousness and falsehood, Only in my Owner dwells the truth! I run farther and still farther, Growing happier with each new day.
