Steve Bodio (Stephen Bodio’s Querencia, in my links) lost a dog recently, and sent me this poem by, surprisingly enough, Ogden Nash.
On a Good Dog
O, my little pup ten years ago
was arrogant and spry,
Her backbone was a bended bow
for arrows in her eye.
Her step was proud, her bark was loud,
her nose was in the sky,
But she was ten years younger then,
And so, by God, was I.
Small birds on stilts along the beach
rose up with piping cry.
And as they rose beyond her reach
I thought to see her fly.
If natural law refused her wings,
that law she would defy,
for she could do unheard-of things,
and so, at times, could I.
Ten years ago she split the air
to seize what she could spy;
Tonight she bumps against a chair,
betrayed by milky eye! She seems to pant, Time up, time up!
My little dog must die,
And lie in dust with Hector’s pup;
So, presently, must I.
This is such a beautiful poem JP. I really needed that especially with what happened in CT over the weekend. It brightened my day as tomorrow is my b’day. (Dec 18th). Thanks so much for posting it. Give my best to Ms. Darlene.
Tena French Halifax, NS Canada
This is a very beautiful poem!I find the pictures of the dogs on the website of Stephen Bodio just great!The dogs lie lazily on the couch
these dogs belong to the family.He seems to have a big heart for dogs.For me, our dogs belong to the family.They also live in the house and can lie on the couch.Many people told us:Several females in a house?This will not go well. They will bite each other……That is such a bullshit.We have a very good relationship with our dogs, and that’s important to be able to keep dogs in a pack.Currently there are four females live with us,Deena a Border Collie is 2 years old, Minnie is 11 years old she is a mix from Greece and blind from birth,Finchen is a terrier mix 10 months old ,Lena is a pointer mix from Romania (from a killing station) and 9 months old,she was abused, and therefore she has only one eye.4 weeks ago we had a car accident in which, unfortunately, our only male Sunny was very seriously injured in the cervical spine.He could run no more.The only thing we still could do for him was to put him to sleep,he was only 6 years old,love means also, to let go…….Tena is a wonderful person, she wrote me very kind words at this time.
And so we gave Henry a home yesterday.Henry is a black Old-German sheepdog and 8 weeks old. http://file2.npage.de/011612/13/bilder/henry6.jpg I can not imagine a life without dogs….
My husband has again requested „male“ support
I hope your dogs are healthy and happy!
Manuela
Dans ce poème, j’ai l’impression que M. Bodio parle de mon petit chien qui est mort dans les mêmes conditions. Lorsque l’on adopte un animal, on ne peut pas s’imaginer à quel point on va y être attaché et de l’importance que celui-ci pourra prendre dans notre vie…….
Pour des raisons personnelles, maintenant, je n’ai plus d’animaux à la maison, mais dès que je vois un chien ou un chat, je ne peux m’empêcher de le carresser et de jouer avec lui…….tout en pensant à mon petit chien
Anita
My dogs (Silky terrier crosses) are young and will be the last animals I look after. I don’t want to die and leave a pet behind. One is almost 3 and the other 10 months – sisters. So there are some years ahead. The little one just had major hip surgery. Blood did not get to the top of her leg and so the top of the bone was removed (small fortune). She was in a lot of pain but now is footloose and fancy free. Her leg moves and supports her and she can run like the wind, climbs on my lap for a cuddle and is trying to catch up on the puppy fun she missed out on. And her sister is happy that they can play together again. I thank God for the opportunity to experience the love and companionship of animals – friendship beyond words.
Delphine
I have a good dog, too… her name is Alaska, and I rescued her from a shelter here in Dallas. She’s a 2 1/2 year old poodle mix (not sure what she’s mixed with). So I expect she’ll be around for awhile.
I may have mentioned that I grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, and we always had dogs around the place. Some were given to us and some just wandered in from the highway a few miles from where we lived. Like the ones who found their way to you and Darleen, they just seemed to know where to find food and shelter.
That’s a very beautiful poem, by the way, and I imagine that sooner than I’d like, I’ll be having the same thoughts about my own dog.
By the way, the above comment about Alaska the 2 1/2 yo poodle mix was mine (Ciana). I keep forgetting I have to sign my posts here! lol
Hey JP and Darlne wanting to wish you Bon a very merry Christmas! Hope all is good. Just give a shout out to let us know you are ok and in good health.
Tena French Halifax, NS Canada
Anita est une lectrice perceptif. Adopter un animal est une peut comme un mariage; si on est veuf, peut etre il faut qu’on essayer encore.
(Last Anonymous was me, Steve Bodio, complete with doubtless ungrammatical rusty French).
Je me doutais que c’était M. BODIO qui avait écrit ce message. Mais qu’il se rassure, son français est très bon et certainement meilleur que le traducteur Google
Anita