(72) If (By The Kipling Dog)

One of my all time favourite poems is If by Rudyard Kipling.

If you can scratch that irritation
And rid yourself of those fleas,
Put your head upon a masters lap,
And be patted gently on the head.
Look up with pining eyes at the table,
And gain the reward of a scrap of food.

If you can tempt your master to walk you.
Even when the rain is falling outside;
C**k your leg up at the leg of a chair,
And know you will never get caught.
Bear to take that dreaded walk,
Up to where the fears of the bath await.

If you can dream of the day now gone,
And kick your hind leg up in the air.
If you can train your master well,
To throw a stick but have to bring it back;
Then the world is your bone, my pup,
And every day you will be a dog.





copyright Chris Smith 2010

Reviews

[Ben Taylor]

This is really interesting; making this a parody of "If" was a clever idea :)
Nicely written; the comparison between the two poems is very noticeable, although I'm glad you gave a description of what this was imitating, since I have not read the original before.
In conclusion, this was a well executed, original idea :)

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Awesome Chris!

[HB]

huh. Cute. ;P

[LA Lorena]

A subject near and dear to my heart, what's not to like here? I loved the humourous side to you here Chris, it was nice to see.

[Sukriti Suki]

I haven't read the one by kipling but I couldn't go past the line ' If you can train your master well' until I totally enjoyed it...so wonderful!

[emmajoy]

Such a clever play on Kipling's words, meter and all, love the humour in this, 'Then the world is your bone, my pup, And every day you will be a dog.'

I'm sure Mr.R. Kipling will stay firmly in his resting place, no turning in his grave, and, will rightly appreciate your sense of fun and skill .. 'my friend'!

[Lilly Negoi]

lollllll

[Magdelena]

Now Chris this was not only inspiring, for this was the finest of tributes, but I so enjoyed your imagery within.. Way to go with this... Bravo!

Mags xx

[Judy Ponceby]

Excellent, Chris. Enjoyed this very much. I'm going to look up this poem I haven't read by Kipling! :)

[Jim Parson]

A fun write and a worthy tribute to a great poem by a great writer.

[FJ Davis]

Kipling was great, wasn't he, Chris. "If" is one of my favorite poems.
It appears your masterly touch applies to humor as well as several other categories.
What's not to like? You've produced a well-conceived, well-crafted and thoroughly amusing poem.
Take a bow. That's me applauding.