 | Poems and verses by Mary Mapes Dodge |  |
194
MY DOG.
I love my dog—a beautiful dog,
Brave and alert for a race;
Ready to frolic with baby or man;
Dignified, too, in his place.
Brave and alert for a race;
Ready to frolic with baby or man;
Dignified, too, in his place.
I like his bark—a resonant bark,
Musical, honest, and deep;
And his swirling tail and his shaggy coat
And his sudden, powerful leap.
Musical, honest, and deep;
And his swirling tail and his shaggy coat
And his sudden, powerful leap.
Never a smug little pug for me,
Nor a spitz with treacherous snap!
Never a trembling, pattering hound,
Nor a poodle to live on my lap!
Nor a spitz with treacherous snap!
Never a trembling, pattering hound,
Nor a poodle to live on my lap!
195
No soft-lined basket for bed has Jack,
Nor bib, nor luxurious plate;
But our open door, that he guards so well,
And the lawn are his royal state.
Nor bib, nor luxurious plate;
But our open door, that he guards so well,
And the lawn are his royal state.
No dainty leading-ribbon of silk
My grand, good dog shall fret;
No golden collar needs he to show
He 's a very expensive pet;
My grand, good dog shall fret;
No golden collar needs he to show
He 's a very expensive pet;
But just my loving voice for a chain,
His bound at my slightest sign,
And the faith when we look in each other's eyes
Proclaim that my dog is mine.
His bound at my slightest sign,
And the faith when we look in each other's eyes
Proclaim that my dog is mine.
He never was carried in arms like a babe,
Nor dragged like a toy, all a-curl;
For he proudly knows he 's a dog, does Jack,—
And I'm not that sort of a girl.
Nor dragged like a toy, all a-curl;
For he proudly knows he 's a dog, does Jack,—
And I'm not that sort of a girl.
| Poems and verses by Mary Mapes Dodge | |