Wilford

A poem that not about what it's about

What is the name of the one true dog?

Will the utterance of his name 

make mountains fall and seas swell?

Can it even be spoken by man?

Perhaps it would take a million years to voice,

perhaps so brief that it could not be heard.

If I knew the name would I know all?

Is it math like trigonometry

or music or both? A 3-4-5 triangle

in the key of b-minor with a great brass section.

Is it spoken through the entire arc of time

through the birth and death of galaxies?

Maybe it's the clatter of the degradation

of virtual quantum particles that don't even exist.

Oh, that's right, I named my dog Wilford.

 

Author's Note

any feedback is good, love it or hate it, I've got a thick skin

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

i saw a review you wrote on a poem i was reading and haven't met you yet .. i see on your profile you are new ... so welcome to the Cafe' .. tho you most likely have been here for months .. so many poets to read eh!?
ahahaha Wilford is his name :))))))))))) i love it! what a trip through name musings, math, music, the spiritual .. love shared with beloved pets is something one has to be a part of to have even a small understanding of it .. our dear Bella the Wonder Dog passed a year ago last month and the reverberations of her name still resound. She is buried out back at the forests edge ... a solar cross to light her nights .. how we love our dogs ... her younger home mate is Beauregard ;) He looked for her for the longest time ... breaks my heart ... he's settled in now ... not sure i ever will be .. love your poem .. i am a strong believer in the mix of science and the arts .. so well done in my book! Nice to meet you.
E.

[T.S. Ulmus]

I've definitely seen your name around on some comments, we're reading the same artist. You're right though, so many artists to read. And a lot of chaff to sort through to find the wheat. Thanks for the read and the review.

[iliOZ]

hi delmar. when it comes to names of dogs i always had a weird feeling ofothers
whenever i walked any of my dogs, mostly all of the people walking by they asked me "what is the dog's name?" yet when i told them i detected every time a sort of prying, sometimes disbelieving look on their face as they (i think) were e trying to figure out where the match of the owner's character vs. the type and look of dog is.

a dog would never wonder.
not even wilson!

[Delmar Cooper]

"any feedback is good, love it or hate it, I've got a thick skin" Your mantra?

So the joke, and stop me if you've heard this, goes thusly:
"Did you hear the one about the insomniac, dyslexic, agnostic? "
"He stayed up all night pondering the existence of Wilford."

[T.S. Ulmus]

I respect those who only speak truth, and it seems like you have nothing but truth to speak. While I respect honesty, the last girlfriend that broke up with me said "honesty without compassion is hostility".

[Delmar Cooper]

So she was like too smart for you? Somehow I doubt it. Too something though.

[T.S. Ulmus]

Yeah, too human, I've never been good at that.

[Papaya]

I've always thought it funny that dog spelled backwards is god and god is dog.
If I asked what the poem was about would you tell me, and would it not be what it's about?

[T.S. Ulmus]

Certainly some existential undertones but explaining a joke does not make it funny. Neither does explaining a poem make it more meaningful. I hope to pluck the strings of eternity and have the cords ring in the ears of the reader. A lofty goal. Thank you for your read and review. I started a contest based on your poem btw.

[Papaya]

Cool. :) that sounds like fun!