The love affair between us dogs and our humans can be intense, joyful, and bittersweet. We may be our person’s closest friend, their loyal and trusted companion, or their furry child. The poem “A Dog on His Master” by Poet Laureate, Billy Collins, is a wise and dedicated dog’s meditation on the poignancy of this deep love in the face of our canine life spans. Truly, love between a dog and its person is a sweet surrender.
A Dog on His Master
As young as I look,
I am growing older faster than he,
seven to one
is the ratio they tend to say.
Whatever the number,
I will pass him one day
and take the lead
the way I do on our walks in the woods.
And if this ever manages
to cross his mind,
it would be the sweetest
shadow I have ever cast on snow or grass.
~ Billy Collins
Harper B: How unexpected to find a gasp of fresh air in my e-mail this morning, and I have you to thank for it. I’m 60 years old and I have read a fair amount of poetry in that time. Only two poems in my life have literally taken my breath away: This one, and Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese” (below if you wish). Much thanks, small black dog. You are a sweet shadow yourself indeed. Gratefully,
SB Sherman
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again,
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
–Mary Oliver, Dream Work
Thank you for this Ivy! I’m visiting my mother who is facing her decline at age 83, but more painfully aware of her beloved 15 year old English setter and best friend, Buddy. She has started a poem about Buddy which I hope she’ll complete while I’m here. Can’t wait to share this post with her. The voice of it sounds like the Buddy I know and cherish.