ManicDDaily

Little Dog Learns About Yeats

Little Dog, who lay by her feet
on a winter’s eve, never claimed to know
from poetry, but he did know what he liked, and the one
about clay and waffles made
was for sure his favorite. Nothing
could be better than waffles.

Of course, there was also the one about the silver trout on the floor–
when he first heard that one, he hung about the kitchen door
all day, but no trout showed up–
and when she next read it, he realized
that there was something very fishy
about that trout—

Just now she was intoning–that’s how he could tell
it was poetry–about the second come-in and this one seemed really odd,
because if either trout or waffles were at issue he’d come in
first call–

Only–he listened –if there was some rough beast slouching about,
he might just stay away–he really didn’t have much truck
with rough beasts–only–

and now, he shifted the paw that was getting nearly grilled
by the crinkling fireplace–if the air filled–no, if the air were merely tinged–
with the scent of her fear, why, the world would hear him there
in an instant and it would not be poetry that he’d snarl either
(except for maybe that bit about the blood-dimmed tide)–

He licked his paw as he imagined it, curls
ruffling with pride, and how,
after he’d saved her,
they would arise and go, her hugging him and scratching
behind the ear, to the kitchen where his water bowl
would be lapping in the excitement of it all,
and where too there would be clay and waffles made–

And she could have all the clay she wanted, he thought warmly,
as she intoned on.

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The above was written for Fireblossom’s prompt on With Real Toads to write a poem nesting a poem within its story.  I’ve been too beset by other work to write much but thinking of how my dog Pearl feels about poetry I couldn’t resist this.  Pearl is a girl dog and the book she is reading above is mine — “Going on Somewhere”–Pearl is nothing if not loyal.

The poems cited are The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Song of the Wandering Aengus, and The Second Coming.

Pearl is getting old (18) and blind so she needs now to be read to.  Here is a more recent picture.