I used to visit
And spend time with my uncle
At the graveyard
Where he patiently abides
His eternal stay.

I then began to visit
Cemeteries whose residents
I was unfamiliar with
In obeisance to the universal dead.

Once, at an old, unkempt graveyard,
Eerie like an old movie scene.
I saw several unfed skinny dogs
Running between huge tombstones.

I meditated on how
I should be as hungry to survive and live
As any other animal on earth.
Gazing at those cemetery dogs
Scavenging for something to eat,
I made a promise to myself:
I will never become a statistic of self-defeat.

Uriah Hamilton

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/cemetery-dogs/