Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


A MALEMUTE DOG by PAT O'COTTER

First Line: YOU CAN'T TELL ME GOD WOULD HAVE HEAVEN
Last Line: OF A MALEMUTE'S NOSE ON MY HAND.

YOU CAN'T TELL ME God would have Heaven
So a man couldn't mix with his friends --
That we are doomed to meet disappointment
When we come to the place the trail ends.

That would be a low-grade sort of Heaven,
And I'd never regret a damned sin
If I rush up to the gates white and pearly,
And they don't let my malemute in.

For I know it would never be homelike,
No matter how golden the strand,
If I lose out that pal-loving feeling
Of a malemute's nose on my hand.



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