The Monday Poem has been brought to you by Professor Jim Gormley of the English Department.
Men and Dogs
ENOUGH of beating and fighting, enough
of cruelty and neglect. Let us now praise
the muscle-bound man in black leather and
hard boots who bends down to carry
his tiny white dog across the street
in her pink collar and bedazzled jacket.
Praise the bearded man in flip-flops
and tank top, standard poodle at his side
every morning on the way to the park.
Praise the banker out before dawn
digging in the snow to find the three-foot branch
that is the only stick his German shepherd
thinks worthy of her time. Praise the boys
who adorn their mutts with bandannas
and take them hiking, take them camping,
take them everywhere. Praise all who play
fetch for as long as it takes, until both parties
are satisfied. Praise the ease of it: how simple it is
to tell the dog he loves her, how little proof
the dog requires to believe he is a man.
digging in the snow to find the three-foot branch
that is the only stick his German shepherd
thinks worthy of her time. Praise the boys
who adorn their mutts with bandannas
and take them hiking, take them camping,
take them everywhere. Praise all who play
fetch for as long as it takes, until both parties
are satisfied. Praise the ease of it: how simple it is
to tell the dog he loves her, how little proof
the dog requires to believe he is a man.
K. T. Landon, a finalist in Narrative’s Ninth Annual Poetry Contest, is the author of the chapbook Orange, Dreaming (2017). She received an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the 2013 winner of the Arts & Letters PRIME Poetry Prize. She lives in Massachusetts.Tags: The Monday Poem
