One of my favorite Christmas presents last December was a collection of poems on the creatures I most cherish in this world -- dogs, of course. THE DOG IN BRITISH POETRY edited by R. Maynard Leonard was originally published in 1893. It features two hundred poems. I have been very blessed to share my time on this earth with some very memorable and loving dogs, but one was outstanding in her beauty, manner, and sheer devotion to our family. I will save the story of how she came to us for another day, but for my first offering of a Wednesday Poem, I came across the perfect tribute to our Chelsea.....aka Chelsea Pudding....aka Pudds.....and......well.....Damn!......I still miss her so much. This poem is from the chapter titled "Elegiac Poems."
I have color photos of her rich liver and white coat, but I call this her Walt Disney pose. My older son made this picture when he was taking a photography course. Look closely, and you can see the tip of her tongue. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
A SPARK DIVINE
Not hopeless, round this calm sepulchral spot,
A wreath presaging life we twine;
If God be love, what sleeps below was not
Without a spark divine.
by Sir Francis Hastings Doyle
7 comments:
I had this SAME book in my personal collection. It was one I mailed to Reya in my blogoversary give away. It's a beautiful little book. Hmm. Maybe I should have kept it?
Hello FireLight,
A lovely poem and a lovely photograph. My two sisters have always had dogs but I never have. Although I know how much a part of the family they become.
I've got the same book because I too am a dog nut.
A heartbeat...not at my feet...but at my side where our two hearts march in cadence together.
My dogs are my family, beloved companion animals and I am blessed to have stewardship of them.
The cats, horses and sheep are included as well.
Your photo is delightful.
I'm kind of goofy about dog quotes. So, indulge me:
A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.
~ Ogden Nash
"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three
times before lying down."
--Robert Benchley
"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed
contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."
--John Steinbeck
Oh please, just one more:
"If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience."
- Woodrow Wilson
AH, I have most of these in a book or two....Consider yourself indulged! I may post that second one with yet another picture of one of my boys with yet another family dog!
Oh, how wonderful this is!
What a beautiful dog.
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