The Rescue

Quite the pair they are, the
large black-muscular dog loping
beside the laboured gait of the
man; an arresting sight in
contrasts. The man, his tall
but slight and angular form
bent toward the ground
proceeding carefully, the dog
proceeding with its attention
fully on the awkward progress
of its companion. The man's 
smile slants across the landscape
of a face well acquainted with
suffering, wan and accepting.
His chest strangely concave,
as though his maker, distracted
in the process of building his
body forgot half. Unlike the
large dog's deeply muscular
chest heavy with perceived
menace. Bred to inspire fear,
the dog is herself fearful, shy
and meekly spooked, her human
companion gently reassuring
her, salving her terrorized 
reaction to the unfamiliar.
Her needs motivate his
compassion, his familiarity
with accidents of fate equipping
him, her grateful reliance on
his guiding intervention,
his assigned purpose in life.