Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A DOG'S VIGIL, by MARGARET E. BRUNER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A DOG'S VIGIL, by                    
First Line: There is a friendship that exists between
Last Line: Had seen a lonely dog pass by that night.
Subject(s): Animals; Dogs


There is a friendship that exists between
So-called dumb animals; we often find
Them sorrowing with a grief that is as keen
And deeply felt as those of humankind.

For many times this has been plainly shown
To me, and yet more clearly when I read
The story of a dog who kept alone,
A vigil when his mongrel pal lay dead.

Just how his pal met death I never knew --
I know he kept a lonely watch all day,
Through bitter cold, and not until he grew
Exhausted, would he let friends take away

The comrade he had known in happy hours;
No human could have shown more faithfulness;
He could not tell his grief with words or flowers,
But only with a puzzled, mute distress.

And when kind ones returned who bore away
His lifeless friend, no watcher was in sight. . . .
But travelers through a neighboring field, they say,
Had seen a lonely dog pass by that night.





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