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Loader's avatar

T. Vandel tells it like it is, in a way that's refreshing and loaded with meaning.

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Peter Habein's avatar

Beautiful. This poem reminds me of a stanza in a poem by E. A. Robinson, Ben Jonson Entertains a Man From Stratford, imagining that Shakespeare must have had a dog.

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Tom Vandel's avatar

Thanks, Peter. I like to think that the Bard had a dog - but what kind? English Sheep Dog?

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Peter Habein's avatar

here's the part of the stanza -- I imagine a golden retriever for some reason:

He must have had a father and a mother —

In fact I've heard him say so — and a dog,

As a boy should, I venture; and the dog,

Most likely, was the only man who knew him.

A dog, for all I know, is what he needs

As much as anything right here to-day,

To counsel him about his disillusions,

Old aches, and parturitions of what's coming, —

A dog of orders, an emeritus,

To wag his tail at him when he comes home,

And then to put his paws up on his knees

And say, "For God's sake, what's it all about?"

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Tom Vandel's avatar

Nice. We all need a dog to counsel us about our disillusions...

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