Dog's Death
by John Updike
She must have been kicked unseen or brushed by a car.
Too young to know much, she was beginning to learn
To use the newspapers spread on the kitchen floor
And to win, wetting there, the words, "Good dog! Good dog!"
We thought her shy malaise was a shot reaction.
The autopsy disclosed a rupture in her liver.
As we teased her with play, blood was filling her skin
And her heart was learning to lie down forever.
Monday morning, as the children were noisily fed
And sent to school, she crawled beneath the youngest's bed.
We found her twisted and limp but still alive.
In the car to the vet's, on my lap, she tried
To bite my hand and died. I stroked her warm fur
And my wife called in a voice imperious with tears.
Though surrounded by love that would have upheld her,
Nevertheless she sank and, stiffening, disappeared.
Back home, we found that in the night her frame,
Drawing near to dissolution, had endured the shame
Of diarrhoea and had dragged across the floor
To a newspaper carelessly left there. Good dog.
About John Updike
Best known for his novels, including the series of books about the character Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, John Updike (1932–2009) was also an accomplished poet; his writing career began with a poem published in the New Yorker in 1954 and his first published book was a collection of poetry. Written in 1958, "Dog's Death" is a moving narrative about the loss of a puppy. Updike later wrote "Another Dog's Death" about losing an old canine companion. Both poems can be found in his Collected Poems, 1953–1993.
“Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" by Christopher Marlowe
"Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?"
by Christopher Marlowe
It lies not in our power to love or hate,
For will in us is overruled by fate.
When two are stripped, long ere the course begin,
We wish that one should love, the other win;
And one especially do we affect
Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:
The reason no man knows; let it suffice
What we behold is censured by our eyes.
Where both deliberate, the love is slight:
Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?
About "Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" by Christopher Marlowe:
A contemporary of Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was a renowned poet and playwright during his life. He was a great influence on Shakespeare, who paid tribute to this poem in As You Like It: "Dead Shepherd, now I find thy saw of might, Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?" Marlowe was murdered before his 30th birthday, but left Doctor Faustus and other still-produced plays and several books of poetry.
"Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" takes up the subject of fate on our life choices, also a common theme in Shakespeare. Modern scholars have questioned Marlowe's sexual orientation, and this poem certainly provides a powerful argument that who we are attracted to is beyond our control.
Video:
by Christopher Marlowe
It lies not in our power to love or hate,
For will in us is overruled by fate.
When two are stripped, long ere the course begin,
We wish that one should love, the other win;
And one especially do we affect
Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:
The reason no man knows; let it suffice
What we behold is censured by our eyes.
Where both deliberate, the love is slight:
Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?
About "Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" by Christopher Marlowe:
"Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" takes up the subject of fate on our life choices, also a common theme in Shakespeare. Modern scholars have questioned Marlowe's sexual orientation, and this poem certainly provides a powerful argument that who we are attracted to is beyond our control.
Video:
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