Ode to the Collar on the Neck of My Dog | Teen Ink

Ode to the Collar on the Neck of My Dog

June 20, 2017
By chsongbird GOLD, Arlington, Massachusetts
chsongbird GOLD, Arlington, Massachusetts
18 articles 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything"


A yellow beast
lying on the floor,
curled
as though against a wind
stronger than she
blows through the kitchen,
slim white hairs
and pink belly
pressed
against
linoleum,
You rest
against the ruff
of her neck
where her heartbeats
thud and
skitter
chasing imaginary rabbits.
Leather the color of salmon
tossed by a tepid stream,
softness
worn through by touch
of hand and tooth,
nibbled
by youth,
rubbed by
affection,
Love
is a collar
around
the
neck
of a sleeping dog,
a circlet
of my promise;
you can
always
come back home.


The author's comments:

Pablo Neruda's odes to simple objects like tomatoes or socks inspired me to write one of my own. Love can be expressed in a multitude of ways; rather than write directly to my dog, I wrote to the object most representative of my love for her. 


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