#canine
As I lay on the floor
Watching her
as she puts on her shoes.
She has a bag in her hand
Then heads for the front door.
I get up
and follow her
as she turns the doorknob.
She is leaving!!!
She is not putting my leash on
I'm not going!!
I bark, dont go without me!
Just then
the door opens
and she steps outside,
shutting the door in my face.
I scream,
DON'T GO!!!
TAKE ME WITH YOU!
I just repeat myself. over and over again.
Pacing the front room
from the door to the window,
barking my head off,
DON'T GO
DON'T GO
DON'T GO
I can see her with the bag
as she walks by the window.
She is leaving me again.
I keep yelling through the window,
DON'T GO!
DON'T GO!!
DON'T GO!!!
I watch her,
as she lifts the top of the trash bin
and places the bag inside.
She turns around and sees me,
I just bark at her,
come back,
dont go!
Over and over again.
Oh my God.
She is coming back!!!!
Im barking with excitement,
she is walking back to the door,
she isn't going to leave me,
im pacing the front room again
as she opens the front door-
wiggling my tail
and barking
I love you.
CRISIS AVERTED
May 1
May 1, 2026 at 1:44 AM UTC
I bear my sharp teeth
Clamping down on the flesh
All the words unsaid
Engraving onto my fangs
With each bite
I claw open the ribs
Spearing the meat
The heart still warm
As the pulse beats with mine
Weak but alive.
Apr 14
Apr 14, 2026 at 9:54 AM UTC
I bare my ivory teeth,
Jaw clenched,
But my tail is tucked,
My ears lay back.
The crimson between my incisors
Is from my own tongue
A growl comes from deep inside me,
A misunderstood cry for help
My claws were sharpened against,
My own skin,
I snap at the hand that feeds me
Because I think I deserve
To starve
Apr 4
Apr 4, 2026 at 12:13 PM UTC
I didn’t always have such sharp teeth
I wasn’t born that way
I did not exit the womb with fangs
White as porcelain and sharp like a sword
But my canines grew in
The very first time that a boy touched me
Grabbed a fistful of my ***
As I ran across the softball fields
They grew longer still
With each married father
Who complimented my *** in my “tight little jeans”
When I was only fourteen, running a cash register
They became longer than my other teeth
The moment I heard my father
Laugh along at the jokes other men would make
About *** about their wives, about Pam Anderson
My fangs broke past my lips
When I was held down and *****
In the back of a ****** four door car
His weight pressed against my frame, impossible to run
They pierced my bottom lip so hard
That I could only taste blood
Instead of ***** and *****
Unwelcome in the back of my throat
They throbbed with hunger
When I learned that 15 months of probation
Was the price to pay for serial ****
For serial dehumanization, brutalization and degradation
They ached with growing pains
Like wisdom teeth crowding through
When I woke up in a daze
With a boy I didn’t know on top of me
They’ve grown longer and longer,
Like the tusks on an elephant
With each and every single ******* man
Who has put his hands on me
My sharp, sharp canine teeth
Have grown so long,
Longer than can be measured
So that I am no longer human,
I am all canine teeth
Jan 31
Jan 31, 2026 at 11:31 PM UTC
There once was a man from Mauritius
Whose canine was toothy and vicious:
It once bit the hand
That was feeding it and
It considered the flavor delicious.
Jan 23
Jan 23, 2026 at 10:28 PM UTC
i think i might be destined to be alone
mismatched attractions
never aligned
well, maybe aligned
for a night
but not much more than that
and i do cherish the nights i have with others
but afterwards i just feel lonely
my heart yearns too much for things it cannot have
i get jealous about things that arent mine
and wont ever be
i know my heart isnt destined to be with any singular person
and i dont know if i
will ever meet someone who understands
and besides
i have always been told (albeit, indirectly,) that i am unlovable
undesirable
at best; a means to an end
sometimes it feels like
as long as i can be useful to someone
used by someone
i would have some kind of purpose to fulfill
and then maybe i could be
worth something
the reasonable part of my brain knows,
obviously,
that that is stupid
but when someone tells me how good i have been
while putting their hand against my skin
i will lean into it
every single time
Dec 9, 2025
Dec 9, 2025 at 6:40 PM UTC
I follow your trail wherever you go
I chase your reflection from years ago
I remember all tricks you tought me once
Sit, paw, play dead, dance
You raised a stray pup on your own chest
Allowed in your home, allowed me to rest
I bared my teeth when you asked me to
I'd smooth fur on my neck if told so too
But you could never love such broken pup
For all of your care, I've never cought up
With what you hoped for me to achieve
My rotten heart forever will grieve
My canine mind still searches you
The words you've spoken are to me true
You are my faith, what I trusted whole
Yet you left with all the memories you stole
I howl at night when I loose the trail
A familiar feeling to be tossed while frail
I wonder if you could ever love a stray
I wonder if there's something that would make you stay
I sink my teeth in the scut of mine
All that chase is a waste of time
A mongrel could never be a reason to stay
I'm sorry it's my fault for going astray
Aug 11, 2025
Aug 11, 2025 at 4:10 PM UTC
On the road outside
Of the fence
The Border Collie hears
The call of the
Doggies
On the inside
Enclosed behind
The wooden fence
The Alaskan malamute
The Drever, the Poodle
Bustle the edge of the barrier
Bark, bark, bark
A cacophony
Let us out
Let us come with you
Pledging to obey,
The Collie
On hind legs
Of a towering stature
Lifts a paw
Finds the latch
The gate creaks open
Uncorking in celebration
They run in gleeful circles
Hounds to escape artists
Unbound and free from tyranny
Of a heartless master
Marking their new territory
Of tree trunks
Sidewalks and fields
Have you ever seen
Such jubilation
Mirth and gaiety
Wagging their tails
Like helicopter blades
With gail force glee
They take off
Like upside down rain
Up, up, up
Every which way
Friends forever
Boundless canines
In search of the next
immured pooch who waits
For the musketeers
Jan 21, 2025
Jan 21, 2025 at 9:55 AM UTC
your teeth were sharp
and mine were filed down
i let you gnaw away at me
although i would have let you go for the throat
tearing away from my flesh
my precious artery gushing like my broken heart
if only i had been delicious
maybe you'd still be lapping up my blood
nibbling on whatever's left of me
but apparently i wasnt satifactory
so you left behind my mangled remains
i was your *****
until i wasnt
i was your mutt
until i wasnt
until i was your meal
still stuck in your teeth
Oct 21, 2024
Oct 21, 2024 at 8:23 PM UTC
Ignorance quashed the feline,
Rashness foiled the canine,
Cowardice cost the equine,
Greed consumes each swine,
Slothfulness traps the bovine,
But me? I'm doin' just fine!
Jun 20, 2024
Jun 20, 2024 at 4:07 PM UTC
You were without doubt the best dog I've ever had.
Your death has broken my heart and I'm very sad.
When I named you Agnes, I named you after my late mother.
I was your owner and you and I had a lot of love for one another.
You were a Chihuahua and you were an Applehead.
It tore me up when I learned that you were dead.
You were pretty with dark brown fur and you were small.
You weren't just a dog, you were also my baby doll.
I owned you for almost seven wonderful years.
I found you dead in my kitchen and it drove me to tears.
What I'm about to say is no lie, it's one hunded percent true.
You were my baby doll and your Daddy will always love you.
Jul 26, 2020
Jul 26, 2020 at 1:24 PM UTC
These are poems about dogs and doggerel about dogs...
Dog Daze
by Michael R. Burch
Sweet Oz is a soulful snuggler;
he really is one of the best.
Sometimes in bed
he snuggles my head,
though mostly he plops on my chest.
I think Oz was made to love
from the first ray of light to the dark,
but his great love for me
is exceeded (oh gee!)
by his Truly Great Passion: to Bark.
Epitaph for a Lambkin
by Michael R. Burch
for Melody, the prettiest, sweetest and fluffiest dog ever
Now that Melody has been laid to rest
Angels will know what it means to be blessed.
Amen
This Dog
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation/moderniz ation by Michael R. Burch
Each morning this dog,
who has become quite attached to me,
sits silently at my feet
until, gently caressing his head,
I acknowledge his company.
This simple recognition gives my companion such joy
he shudders with sheer delight.
Among all languageless creatures
he alone has seen through man entire—
has seen beyond what is good or bad in him
to such a depth he can lay down his life
for the sake of love alone.
Now it is he who shows me the way
through this unfathomable world throbbing with life.
When I see his deep devotion,
his offer of his whole being,
I fail to comprehend...
How, through sheer instinct,
has he discovered whatever it is that he knows?
With his anxious piteous looks
he cannot communicate his understanding
and yet somehow has succeeded in conveying to me
out of the entire creation
the true loveworthiness of man.
My Dog Died
by Pablo Neruda
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My dog died;
so I buried him in the backyard garden
next to some rusted machine.
One day I'll rejoin him, over there,
but for now he's gone
with his shaggy mane, his crude manners and his cold, clammy nose,
while I, the atheist who never believed
in any heaven for human beings,
now believe in a paradise I'm unfit to enter.
Yes, I somehow now believe in a heavenly kennel
where my dog awaits my arrival
wagging his tail in furious friendship!
But I'll not indulge in sadness here:
why bewail a companion
who was never servile?
His friendship was more like that of a porcupine
preserving its prickly autonomy.
His was the friendship of a distant star
with no more intimacy than true friendship called for
and no false demonstrations:
he never clambered over me
coating my clothes with mange;
he never assaulted my knee
like dogs obsessed with ***
But he used to gaze up at me,
giving me the attention my ego demanded,
while helping this vainglorious man
understand my concerns were none of his.
Aye, and with those bright eyes so much purer than mine,
he'd gaze up at me
contentedly;
it was a look he reserved for me alone
all his entire sweet, gentle life,
always merely there, never troubling me,
never demanding anything.
Aye, and often I envied his energetic tail
as we strode the shores of Isla Negra together,
in winter weather, wild birds swarming skyward
as my golden-maned friend leapt about,
supercharged by the sea's electric surges,
sniffing away wildly, his tail held *****
his face suffused with the salt spray.
Joy! Joy! Joy!
As only dogs experience joy
in the shameless exuberance
of their guiltless spirits.
Thus there are no sad good-byes
for my dog who died;
we never once lied to each other.
He died, he's gone, I buried him;
that's all there is to it.
Bed Head, or, the Ballad of
Beth and her Fur Babies
by Michael R. Burch
When Beth and her babies
prepare for “good night”
sweet rituals of kisses
and cuddles commence.
First Wickett, the eldest,
whose mane has grown light
with the wisdom of age
and advanced senescence
is tucked in, “just right.”
Then Mary, the mother,
is smothered with kisses
in a way that befits
such an angelic missus.
Then Melody, lambkin,
and sweet, soulful Oz
and cute, clever Xander
all clap their clipped paws
and follow sweet Beth
to their high nightly roost
where they’ll sleep on her head
(or, perhaps, her caboose).
Excoriation of a Treat Slave
by Michael R. Burch
I am his Highness’s dog at Kew.
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?
—Alexander Pope
We practice our fierce Yapping,
for when the treat slaves come
they’ll grant Us our desire.
(They really are that dumb!)
They’ll never catch Us napping —
our Ears pricked, keen and sharp.
When they step into Our parlor,
We’ll leap awake, and Bark.
But one is rather doltish;
he doesn’t understand
the meaning of Our savage,
imperial, wild Command.
The others are quite docile
and bow to Us on cue.
We think the dull one wrote a poem
about some Dog from Kew
who never grasped Our secret,
whose mind stayed think, and dark.
It’s a question of obedience
conveyed by a Lordly Bark.
But as for playing fetch,
well, that’s another matter.
We think the dullard’s also
as mad as any hatter
and doesn’t grasp his duty
to fling Us slobbery *****
which We’d return to him, mincingly,
here in Our royal halls.
Wickett
by Michael R. Burch
Wickett, sweet Ewok,
Wickett, old Soul,
Wicket, brave Warrior,
though no longer whole . . .
You gave us your All.
You gave us your Best.
You taught us to Love,
like all of the Blessed
Angels and Saints
of good human stock.
You barked the Great Bark.
You walked the True Walk.
Now Wickett, dear Child
and incorrigible Duffer,
we commend you to God
that you no longer suffer.
May you dash through the Stars
like the Wickett of old
and never feel hunger
and never know cold
and be reunited
with all our Good Tribe —
with Harmony and Paw-Paw
and Mary beside.
Go now with our Love
as the great Choir sings
that Wickett, our Wickett,
has at last earned his Wings!
The Resting Place
by Michael R. Burch
for Harmony
Sleep, then, child;
you were dearly loved.
Sleep, and remember
her well-loved face,
strong arms that would lift you,
soft hands that would move
with love’s infinite grace,
such tender caresses!
...
When autumn came early,
you could not stay.
Now, wherever you wander,
the wildflowers bloom
and love is eternal.
Her heart’s great room
is your resting place.
...
Await by the door
her remembered step,
her arms’ warm embraces,
that gathered you in.
Sleep, child, and remember.
Love need not regret
its moment of weakness,
for that is its strength,
And when you awaken,
she will be there,
smiling,
at the Rainbow Bridge.
Oz is the Boss!
by Michael R. Burch
Oz is the boss!
Because? Because...
Because of the wonderful things he does!
He barks like a tyrant
for treats and a hydrant;
his voice far more regal
than mere greyhound or beagle;
his serfs must obey him
or his yipping will slay them!
Oz is the boss!
Because? Because...
Because of the wonderful things he does!
Xander the Joyous
by Michael R. Burch
Xander the Joyous
came here to prove:
Love can be playful!
Love can have moves!
Now Xander the Joyous
bounds around heaven,
waiting for his mommies,
one of the SEVEN ―
the Seven Great Saints
of the Great Canine Race
who evangelize Love
throughout all Time and Space.
Amen
Mary, Mary
by Michael R. Burch
Mary, Mary,
sweet yet contrary,
how do your puppies grow?
With sugar and spice
and everything nice,
and Mama Beth loving them so!
Lady’s Favor: Ye Noble Ballade of Sir Dog and the Butterfly
by Michael R. Burch
Sir was such a gallant man!
When he saw his Lady cry
and beg him to send her a Butterfly,
what else could he do, but comply?
From heaven, he found a Monarch
regal and able to defy
north winds and a chilly sky;
now Sir has his wings and can fly!
When our gallant little dog Sir was unable to live any longer, my wife Beth asked him send her a sign, in the form of a butterfly, that Sir and her mother were reunited and together in heaven. It was cold weather, in the thirties. We rarely see Monarch butterflies in our area, even in the warmer months. But after Sir had been put to sleep, to spare him any further suffering, Beth found a Monarch butterfly in our back yard. It appeared to be lifeless, but she brought it inside, breathed on it, and it returned to life. The Monarch lived with us for another five days, with Beth feeding it fruit juice and Gatorade on a Scrubbie that it could crawl over like a flower. Beth is convinced that Sir sent her the message she had requested.
Solo’s Watch
by Michael R. Burch
Solo was a stray
who found a safe place to stay
with a warm and loving band,
safe at last from whatever cruel hand
made him flinch in his dreams.
Now he wanders the clear-running streams
that converge at the Rainbow’s End
and the Bridge where kind Angels attend
to all souls who are ready to ascend.
And always he looks for those
who hugged him and held him close,
who kissed him and called him dear
and gave him a home free of fear,
to welcome them to his home, here.
Buffy
by Michael R. Burch
Buffy is fluffy
but never stuffy.
Though she runs forever,
she never gets huffy.
The perfect puppy.
Prince Kiwi the Great
by Michael R. Burch
Kiwi’s
a pee-wee
but incredibly bright:
he sleeps half the day,
pretending it’s night!
Prince Kiwi
commands us
with his regal air:
“Come, humans, and serve me,
or I’ll yank your hair!”
Kiwi
cries “Kree! Kree!”
when he wants to be fed ...
suns, preens, flutters, showers,
then it’s off to bed.
Kiwi’s
a pee-wee
but incredibly bright:
he sleeps half the day,
pretending it’s night!
Kiwi is our family’s green-cheeked parakeet. Parakeets need to sleep around 12 hours per day, hence the pun on “bright” and “half the day.”
Keywords: dog, dogs, canine, love, loyal, loyalty, friendship, companionship, bark, barking, soul, soulful, sweet, bossy, angel, angels, heaven, Rainbow Bridge
Apr 12, 2020
Apr 12, 2020 at 6:02 PM UTC
I’m the dog
Sharp of tooth and tongue
That bits every hand
And snarls at all
That walk by it
I’m the dog
With deep and long lungs
That howls at night
For a pull in their chest
That they can’t name
I’m the dog
That doesn’t know
How to play nicely
And is always sitting
In the corner, alone
I’m the dog
The vicious dog
The loud dog
The lonely dog
The scared dog
The weeping dog
The dog
That dog
Sitting in your corner
Always staring at you
Always waiting
For you to give in
So it can eat you whole
Apr 9, 2020
Apr 9, 2020 at 6:18 PM UTC
I bought my newest dog one year ago, today is our first anniversary.
Last year, some nice people cut the price in half and sold him to me.
When I bought him, I only paid one hundred.
They sold me a Chihuahua and his name is Red.
I take care of him and he lives in my basement.
When I bought him, it was a hundred bucks that was well spent.
When I bought him, I was amazed at how fast he warmed up to me.
Red is very pretty with brown fur and today is our first anniversary.
Nov 11, 2019
Nov 11, 2019 at 6:06 PM UTC
I know the process
Doesn’t make it easier
It starts off with shock
Then leads to red anger
I’ll bargain for peace
Till I sink to depression
And hopefully by the end
I’ll have found some acceptance
I know the process
Doesn’t make it easier
I still feel the sharp pain
Since life's been taken from her
Jan 21, 2019
Jan 21, 2019 at 12:19 PM UTC
This morning, I experienced some good luck.
I bought a Chihuahua for one hundred bucks.
My new dog is brown and his name is Red.
He will be my dog for many years ahead.
Like other dogs, he probably loves to gnaw on bones.
Red makes the third Chihuahua dog that I own.
Nov 11, 2018
Nov 11, 2018 at 8:35 PM UTC
Another day lumbers ...
My Canine is still and pet
my diet is poison-less
my Simian; grounded
my plumage; tame
my imagination is prank-free
and my Feline is out of mischief ;
in a productive slumber
In soothe to say
It's better this way
And so passes
Another safe day
Oct 28, 2018
Oct 28, 2018 at 3:20 PM UTC
I'm on the run
And not for fun
The police are chasing
My heart is racing
When my life is at stake
My morality I'll break
The police release the hounds
I can hear their deadly sounds
They want to maim me
I want to stay me
I decide to fight the charging canines
Because I just snorted a ******* line
My judgement loses length
To my influx of strength
I break the dogs' legs
Until they beg
That's not enough
Sorry Scruff
The steel gun I fire
A furry cop retired
The police attack me
For defending myself
They refuse to see
The danger to my health
They chose to use crazy canines
So I feel the fault isn't mine
That doesn't change their decision
For me to die slowly in prison
I am in the teeth of the government
Much to my human wonderment
This is the way I'll spend the rest of my life
For the decisions I made at the end of a knife
The irony is cops **** dogs all the time
Yet they obstruct their vision of the line
Where it ceases to be man versus society
And becomes man versus nature
When a man is in peril
He must turn feral
But in a country that blindly idolizes aggression
The police don't acknowledge this discretion
They dig their teeth into our skin
While draining us financially
The only way we'll ever win
Is if things change substantially
Sadism fervently fuels the flames of conflict
With an exasperated public sick of being kicked
Cruelty is what they witness
To lose their mental fitness
How can they protect their babies
When the police have rabies?
The police relationship with the effected public will never shift
When there's a Cereberus between them maintaining the rift
Oct 24, 2017
Oct 24, 2017 at 5:35 AM UTC
my dog speaks
to me
sometimes
she says "people
is stupid"
Jan 24, 2015
Jan 24, 2015 at 3:03 PM UTC
Today my Chihuahua and I celebrate our 4th anniversary.
But something happened two weeks ago that was scary.
I had to rush my dog to the vet because she was sick.
She almost died because she was paralyzed by a tick.
She couldn't move or eat and I was scared she would die.
I was afraid that I would end up having to say goodbye.
She got better after people prayed and there is one thing that I understand.
I'm celebrating my 4th anniversary with a wonderful dog and I'm a lucky man.
Aug 27, 2017
Aug 27, 2017 at 9:08 AM UTC
dog
all night long
dog
your old song
dog
all night long
how
your friends
yelp
growl howl
dog
your old song
dog
all night long
dog
mad decibel gall
dog
your old song
dog
one pelts stone
dog
guard flings stick
dog
your old song
dog
your old song
dog
your old song
dog
all night long
run
dog
run
dog
run
early
tomo'
morn
dog
catcher
prowling
run
dog
run
dog
run
run
dog
run
dog
run
Jul 2, 2017
Jul 2, 2017 at 10:22 AM UTC
He set a motion that tied the night
with a surge of peace through flight
A walk at pardoned him for this fight
the doorway sought now
as his fortune with the moon!
And a primal scream that retaliated fraught
but down by fairgrounds his doggy run
still furry friends rode in heat,
and they couldn't be sheep in these latitudes that wool adorn
when a caper was a precedent.
If ghosts perched upon the cases
where sprinkles attended from where they stay
but they must defame those breeds
with suggestive wiles they rehearsed.
furthermore their embrace did employ
what dignified lust was another cornflower day
Jun 9, 2017
Jun 9, 2017 at 4:26 PM UTC
I see all of the worst decisions I've ever made,
All of the wrong, that I have done.
It follows me, in the worst of ways.
But a dog, an especially this one,
This gentle, brindle soul.
Every bit of good I've ever done
Walks in each stride of her white paws.
The clouds of misery, which often find themselves
looming, in despicable ways.
Evaporate in the lick of a tongue on my cheek.
Or often, a toothy smile, which I do not deserve.
She is boundless, for who am I to contain her.
Jun 6, 2017
Jun 6, 2017 at 11:23 PM UTC
Jasper my best canine friend,
I have a message to send,
Ears so big, fluffy and free,
Always put a smile on me,
Oval sandy rock eyes stare,
Fur as dark as a black bear,
Coat so shiny lions mane,
Spirit animal large chain,
Mischevious wagging tail,
Someone outside bark and wail,
Muddy prints from paws alike,
Not an aspect I dislike.
Apr 29, 2017
Apr 29, 2017 at 7:31 PM UTC