“That Obligatory Dog Poem Everyone Warns You Not to Write” by Marianne Worthington

201 Replies

Drowsing, I hear her yipping dream, feel
her climbing my hip through rhythmic breaths.
She is my squirrel dog who can’t hunt, fretful
and brain-hurt from seizures I ease with Valium
and Phenobarbital. The vet told me mountain
men hunting bear would send in their feist
dogs to worry the bear so the big dogs
and men could come in for the kill.

Here each night her deep sleep is what keeps
the mauling away. When the house is still
and receptive to ghosts, she burrows
in blankets, stretches out long, syncs
the night’s measure pulling
with the moon washing over our sleep.

-Marianne Worthington

201 thoughts on ““That Obligatory Dog Poem Everyone Warns You Not to Write” by Marianne Worthington”

  3. unwit

    I think it’s great! and here’s to more dog poems. Come on! If a beloved dog is not worth writing a poem about, what is?

    Reply ↓

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