A Poem for Tuesday

If I tell you I heard a great poem on NPR the other night, you will remember the poetry series I enjoyed on PBS, and you will begin to know the truth of what an enormously big geek I am.

So I won't tell you, and will just say I really wanted to share this poet laureate's poem called "Migraine or Hangover" about kids playing Marco Polo in the pool. In it the poet shares his belief that the children should be required to read a history of China.

I couldn't find it, but here is a good one about the neighbor's dog.

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House
Billy Collins

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.