In Honor of New Dogs. That Means You, Leo.
Dogs
by Lawrence Raab
I never liked the idea.
Didn’t animals belong outside?
Wasn’t it wrong to make them
feel like people, talking to them
as if they understood?
Of course they understood
some of the time, I said,
but anything small enough gets scared
when you raise your voice.
A well-trained dog, we read
when we got the dog, is a happy dog.
Your dog, I told my wife.
And yours, I told my daughter.
But all the better arguments
were on their side: loyalty.
companionship, and every time
we came home the dog welcomed us,
so of course se started
talking to her. Then sometimes
I said I’d take her out.
I said I wanted to smoke a cigarette
and I did, even though
I liked the way she waited by the door
when I called her name,
the way it was so easy to make her happy.
by Lawrence Raab
I never liked the idea.
Didn’t animals belong outside?
Wasn’t it wrong to make them
feel like people, talking to them
as if they understood?
Of course they understood
some of the time, I said,
but anything small enough gets scared
when you raise your voice.
A well-trained dog, we read
when we got the dog, is a happy dog.
Your dog, I told my wife.
And yours, I told my daughter.
But all the better arguments
were on their side: loyalty.
companionship, and every time
we came home the dog welcomed us,
so of course se started
talking to her. Then sometimes
I said I’d take her out.
I said I wanted to smoke a cigarette
and I did, even though
I liked the way she waited by the door
when I called her name,
the way it was so easy to make her happy.
Yes. This is Leo. He's a happy, happy boy. He follows my husband around the house like a lovesick puppy. It's adorable.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for a special story for Leo.
Oh, he is cute! And Mr. Raab clearly understands canines.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet puppy! Such BIG paws... Love the poem...
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly how I felt about dogs before and after getting one! :0)
ReplyDeleteOh what a sweet baby. I bet his belly smells like warm bagels. Sea Witch
ReplyDeleteLeo is a darling, most definitely.
ReplyDeleteToday our chocolate Standard Poodle, Bonbon, turns ten. Hard to believe it was a decade ago that the breeder in Canada emailed us a photo of the litter. Bonbon is currently at work on a chapbook of poetry about humans...... :)