What happened to
the poor beast?

Did he slowly
starve to death,
still barking at bells
that never brought
a dish of food?

Or did they feed him
just enough to keep
him alive, prove
the experiment
worked again
and again?

Maybe he escaped.

There were city streets,
garbage cans to
eat from, until he
was forgotten,
a permanent stray.

And maybe he lived
long enough to
ignore the sound
of any bell,
church or streetcar,
saliva never dripping
from his tongue.