Ode to “Mili”

the foundling in our ’hood

“starry eyed” PC: Reena Kapoor (c)2023. Instagram @1stardusty

A very short poem in between posts… that I wrote many years ago for a little creature who wormed her way into our hearts in the course of a few hours that she was with us.

We still chuckle at the memory of it all…

Ode to “Mili” - the foundling in our ’hood 

One day we found this doggie rather silly.

In our ‘hood she was running willy-nilly.

We brought her home for safety, until her owners were found,

And from then on we called her Ms. Mili!

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Mili is a Hindi word that means found (female). This poem refers to a little white dog - and the name we gave her - who was found and lost by us and lost and found by her worried owner on a sunny day more than six years ago. When we came across her, she was wandering rather freely and quite happily on a street nearby with no owner or dog walker in sight.

Mili had on a pink collar with no information about her origins or provenance. She was of an indeterminate breed (to us) with a determined personality. Unable to locate where she should be returned and concerned about cars whizzing by, we decided to take her home. A true social butterfly, Mili delightedly entered our home as if she’d known us for years. She even demanded treats, while we made calls and posts on neighborhood groups to find her owners.

Moxie (our old girl who passed too soon, two years ago) was not happy at the intrusion. But she tolerated it, sighing deeply with relief once Mili’s owners were found and Mili was summarily returned. Mili’s owner was an old lady who was quite distraught at having lost her. Apparently this wasn’t a first - Mili was quite the wanderer. Yet somehow I never saw Mili again. Turned out Mili’s real name was Honey. She was that too. Sweet!