“Here, Body” (The Body Is Not Your Good Dog.)
I’m sorry. There is an incurable goofiness about some of my drawings. I did this one (based on Leonardo) for the recently revised poem below. It is quite a serious poem and not really much about dogs, so forgive me for being misleading.
The poem is being posted for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night (Tuesdays) hosted by the wonderfully generous (and thankfully, humorous) Brian Miller.
Here, Body
The body is not your good dog.
It may sit, lie down, roll over,
but there’s a limit to its Rover
aspect. No spank
will keep it from
accident; no leash
train it to the right; no yank
make it heel
feelings.
You tell it what to want, but
it will vaunt
its fleshly, furry ways,
sneaking food when already fed;
taking up all the room on the bed;
whiffing what should not be sniffed;
its passion aimed at but a toy–
here, girl; here, boy–
that can never love it back.
It will decay
though you say stay. Still,
you will love it,
this not-good dog;
for even as you scold and cajole,
call,
and despair
of calling,
you will find yourself
cradling it;
you will find yourself
in its arms.
Tags: " "Here, "The Body is not your good dog, body." dVerse poets pub, drawing of Leonardo dog/man, iPad art, manicddaily, ManicDDaily poetry, poem about the unreliable body, poetry about dog and body, poetry about the body
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ManicDDaily 
October 25, 2011 at 1:50 pm
haha – enjoyed your poem…try to take good care of my body so it at least does halfway what i want it to do..smiles …and the drawing is really cool… maybe even like it better than leonardo’s …
October 25, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Ha! Thanks so much, Claudia.
October 25, 2011 at 2:26 pm
i thought this a wonderful piece of poetry…the body as a dog fits…and thought we may have a scold of it, it has a mind of its own and yes like a dog we still love it because it is our own…smiles.
October 25, 2011 at 2:31 pm
guess teaching an old dog tricks is pretty tough… unusual topic
October 25, 2011 at 3:33 pm
This made me smile. And hits close to home.
October 25, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Thanks, Emily.
October 25, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Mine busted off its leash ages ago and I’ve yet to catch up! Witty write…LOVE the pic. A fantastic share for OpenLinkNight. Truly enjoyed the write!
October 25, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Fine write. Touching there as it progressed. I have to say without the disclaimer some of the lines in the upper part definitely would have caused a bit of chuckling–but I love when a piece can take on two diverse personas, which this could do if you so chose it to. It’s difficult to write in such a way. Awesome job, thanks for the read
October 25, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Thank you.
October 25, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Very cute drawing, and your poem definitely smacks of our nature…… but it reminded me of the all too true thought that we can at times be howling, completely ravaging, animal-like hedonistic, dogs……… I’m sure that we all try desperately to rise above that, but still there is just something about those bacon-cheese-bit snacks that makes my tail wag! 🙂
October 25, 2011 at 9:44 pm
this is wonderful. The not so good dog that you just have to love because in the end you feel the need to reach out and hold him in your arms. This is amazing and great word flow and images
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/10/25/the-groom-of-the-dead-bride/
October 25, 2011 at 9:49 pm
A dog will always try to be faithful, but it still takes some effort on the part of the owner to insure it always will. And I have the old dog and old body to prove it. Clever and thoughtful piece, Karin.
October 25, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Thanks, Joe.
October 25, 2011 at 9:53 pm
PS – So do I!
October 25, 2011 at 10:10 pm
The cat didn’t need it to be about dogs, but I guess it’s okay if they are there a little..haha. Yeah no matter the age, it is our own body and dog.
October 26, 2011 at 8:24 am
I agree, the body is not as simple to train and please as a dog. 🙂 Enjoyed this. 🙂
October 26, 2011 at 11:57 am
One of my favorite reads–I am a dog person, and all the parallels in your poem rang so true–our bodies seem to be domesticated, but will never ever obey us in the end, though they do give us much in return. And like the best dog, it will hurt to let them go.
October 26, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Thanks so much, Hedgewitch.
October 27, 2011 at 10:40 am
great sense of humour!