"Dawn Patrol," a silly little poem with commentary

"Dawn Patrol"

Eric Paul Nolte

A little poem below, a tiny burst of sweet silliness I wrote, along with some commentary on why I came to write it.

Terri is campaigning, slowly but slyly, to get a dog. I resist because dogs are so much work. But I do love dogs anyway! I especially remember how much I loved Star, starting when the girls were little. Star was a big old black standard poodle. Well, actually he was more gray than black, and he was half a size smaller than a standard poodle, but what a winning smile and eager mien! We all adored him.

Now, I just stumbled across a lovely article in The Science Dog, by Linda P. Case, called "I Yawn for Your Love," which describes studies done on the nature of canine yawning. She opens her article by describing how her dog, a Brittany named Vinny, begins every day by yawning hugely in her face.

On her Facebook page, Cynthia Gillis posted Ms. Case's article and there challenged our mutual friend, John Joseph Enright, to write some verse, which John subsequently did with his usual, inimitable wit.

A line or two came to my mind, so I too tried my hand at writing a little, um, doggerel (as it were) on the subject, and amused myself for a few minutes with this silliness.

Here it is:

                             Dawn Patrol

Rising just above the distant mountain ridge,

The sun's slender crescent swells at dawn

While Vinny, Linda's Brittany, creeps and peeks

Above his sleeping master's sheets. Then with a gaping yawn

Of dog breath wafting up her nose--oh, how she freaks! 

And then he crawls across her legs as if upon a bridge

And pulls abeam her face to softly nuzzle Linda's cheeks! 

                                          E P N

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