Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE FAITHFUL DOG, by LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE FAITHFUL DOG, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: See! How he strives to rescue from the flood
Last Line: Faithful to death.
Subject(s): Animals; Dogs


SEE! how he strives to rescue from the flood,
The drowning child, who, venturous in his play,
Plung'd from the slippery footing. With what joy
The brave deliverer, feels those slender arms
Convulsive twining round his brawny neck,
And saves his master's boy. --
A zeal like this,
Hath oft, amid St. Bernard's blinding snows,
Track'd the faint traveller, or unseal'd the jaws
Of the voracious avalanche, plucking thence
The hapless victim.
If thou hast a dog,
Of such a noble race, let him not lack
Aught of the kind requital, that delights
His honest nature. When he comes at eve,
Laying his ample head upon thy knee,
And looking at thee, with a glistening eye,
Repulse him not, but let him, on the rug
Sleep fast and warm, beside thy parlour fire.
The lion-guard of all thou lov'st, is he,
Yet bows his spirit at thy least command,
And crouches at thy feet. On his broad back
He bears thy youngest darling, and endures
Long, with a wagging tail, the teazing sport
Of each mischievous imp. Enough for him,
That they are thine.
'Tis but an olden theme
To sing the faithful dog. The storied page
Full oft hath told his tried fidelity,
In legend quaint. Yet if in this our world
True friendship is a scarce and chary plant
It might be well, to stoop and sow its seed
Even in the humble bosom of a brute.
-- Slight nutriment it needs: -- the kindly tone,
The sheltering roof, the fragments from thy board,
The frank caress, or treasured word of praise
For deeds of loyalty.
So mayest thou win
A willing servant, and an earnest friend,
Faithful to death.






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