Pita

When I found you by the side of the road 
Your eyes were as still as the air, 
Lifeless from all the energy you’d burned. 
We never figured out where it came from, 
It was just something you were born with, 
The flame of an orphan bursting with mania. 
All that untamed potential blinded our eyes, 
Softened our hearts, drew out our laughter. 
You were so fast, like a cheetah on the chase, 
Retinas focused, ears back, legs extended 
As far as your center of gravity would allow. 
Then I found out from a friend, that his father 
Was the one who’d done it, who ran you over, 
And worse, that he’d been drinking in the car. 
His fender had pounded your little torso 
Into the grass where you lay, for hours, 
Waiting for someone like me to find you. 
But I didn’t get there fast enough, by then, 
You were already gone, leaving our lives as fast 
As you came into them.  So farewell, little friend, 
May your next life be as full of love as the last.