tortoise shell and dog brain--
it's all in an effort at honesty that I'm filling you in up front.
My cheaters might be rose-colored or dark as molasses--
you'll have to decide, based upon
my attitude, subtle cues, and giveaway pratfalls.
Okay, maybe I've been panting after you, like you think.
I'm more tortoise than hare,
so you'd better invite me by degrees after all,
perhaps by post or
smoke signals, because once startled I'm gone and it's a job to get me back.
So what d'you think? Never mind.
Ever since I turned seven hundred years old, I'm not as rash
as I used to be.
Nonetheless, play your cards right and I could be
keen for your bed, hogging it,
living for nothing but to make you happy, Master, but still
prone to wander,
chase my tail,
and act stupid at the drop of a hat.
______
by request.
Lovely, fun and serious both, with great charm. k.
ReplyDeleteIt is a dog's life! I've often wondered what the world must be like from the perspective of a canine friend.
ReplyDeleteThe dog's perspective... I'm in the process of writing a short story from that... my dog has a voice that is a mixture of college professor and a boy with ADHD. But hey I cannot bark.
ReplyDeleteLove every word of this--really, I find it hard to articulate why, except that it just made me smile from first t last--the second stanza and the last in particular. I personally think tortoise-shelled caninely-tinted specs would improve most peoples' POV. You play the mythic/animal metaphors out lightly and perfectly.
ReplyDeleteHedgewitch is right. Looking at the world through dog "glasses" would make the whole world a better place.
ReplyDeleteWhat a catch you are, Shay. As a woman and a writer.
It's exactly what I was hoping for.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me want to love her, even though she's so naughty.
Very clever hidden meanings in more than a couple of places --- as always, emphasized by your well-planned line breaks.
These are some of my favorites:
"it's all in an effort at honesty that I'm filling you in up front."
"you'd better invite me by degrees after all"
"So what d'you think? Never mind."
Thank you for giving her a voice. I can't believe no one else wrote for this picture!
I loved this photo Shay, and I'm glad you wrote on it. Your opening was super!
ReplyDeleteI loved this, of course, and this photo drew me too. But I am overloaded at the moment.......I especially love "once started I'm gone and it's a job to get me back."
ReplyDeleteI always like sunglasses on dogs.
ReplyDeleteAuthor is a cat with a bad sense of the passage of time.....
ReplyDeleteLove the unique perspective! It's perfect for the photo.
ReplyDeleteI wanna see that hat ~
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ReplyDeleteI like it. I wish I could write something like this, but it's so difficult.
This is so clever and really unexpected. This definitely goes in the "only Shay" file.
ReplyDeleteAdorable!
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