(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 :)

[Erinne S.]

This was cute and funny! Loved it alot. I am a dog lover, grew up around dogs and have always owned them and this poem sums up everything that a dog does throughout it's lfetime.

Great write!

~Erinne

[Robin]

love the humour of this piece , insightful and entertaining

[V.B.]

My girlfriend is currently raising a puppy of her own, and I have little doubt that you have more or less summed up her entire experience here. Loved the bit about the dog training the master to bring the stick back.

And unless I am terribly mistaken, I believe you meant "hind leg," rather than "hide leg," in the second line of the last stanza. :)

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

Awww- touching really...I think in the last stanza you mean to use the word 'hind' leg but not sure...Sweet thing to think of a dog in this way and truly inspiring.
Light,
Siddartha

[Hello, Goodbye]

good stuff here..

[fatalsymphonies]

I like it too. I think it's interestingly comparing two. The first stanza is my favorite

[HopelesslyDevoted]

very interesting, you have great depth to all of your writing

[Hatchling]

interesting!!

[Maggie]

Hahahaha cute. This seems like it should go in a book, where an elder dog is talking to a young one. I enjoyed it :)

[Hayley]

I like the comparison of the dog in this. The ending stanza really ties this whole piece together. Excellent job :)