Dead dogs do not good poetry make.A few years ago, I was talking to an editor of a literary contest. He was moaning about the "quality" of entries. He told me that of the 800+ poems entered; at least 700 were about pets, or even worse, dead pets. Amazing, yes? I racked my memory. For the life of me, I could not think of a single good pet poem. Hell, I still can't. Other than rhyming couplets on roses, there is not a more painfully clichéd topic.
Now before you lynch me, I do love my dog. I know that people often care more for their furry friends than fleshy ones. I'm also sure there must be a perfectly good 'Eulogy for Pogo" or "Ode to Mr. Socks" out there. I bet there's even a famous one or two. However, the thought of reading an earnest pet tribute makes me cringe down to my chromosomes. As for contests; keep your pet poems on a tight leash at all times.
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Ha! I've written some awful dog poetry myself, I am sure.
My favorite bad dog poem is one I wrote in elementary school:
Lean, lanky, land-locked leaper;
has a tail that's just a peeper.
Eyes are dark and shiny bright;
one ear leans too far right.
My dog.
I think I'll keep 'er.
Also, this one is not too bad, and actually gave me some comfort when Mila died:
The House Dog's Grave
I've changed my ways a little; I cannot now
Run with you in the evenings along the shore,
Except in a kind of dream; and you,
If you dream a moment, you see me there.
So leave awhile the paw marks on the front door Where I used to scratch to go out or in,
And you'd soon open; leave on the kitchen floor
The marks of my drinking-pan.
I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do
On the warm stone,
Nor at the foot of your bed; no, all the nights through
I lie alone.
But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet
Outside your window where firelight so often plays,
And where you sit to read-and I fear often
Grieving for me-
Every night your lamplight lies on my place.
You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
To think of you ever dying. .
A dog would get tired, living so long.
I hope that when you are lying
Under the ground like me your lives will appear
As good and joyful as mine.
No, that's too much hope; you are not
So well cared for as I have been.
And never have known the passionate, undivided
Fidelities that I knew.
Your minds are perhaps too active,
Too many-sided...
But to me you were true.
You were never masters, but friends.
I was your friend.
I loved you well, and was loved.
Deep love endures to the end and far past the end.
If this is my end,
I am not lonely.
I am not afraid.
I am still yours.
Robinson Jeffers, 1941 Selected Poems
That's a damn good poem for an elementary school kid. Rhyme, alliteration, and a logic turn at the end. Honestly, it's as good as some of the "adult" light verse I see today.
Thanks for posting "The House Dog's Grave." Jeffers is an under appreciated poet. I'm also not afraid to say. The poem touched me...in a good way.
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