Riff On Pradip's Dog As Mentor Poem by David McLansky

My dog I rescued
From the pound
She sat sad-eyed
Nose to the ground;
Terrified at the cacophony of barks
Penned in a cage
In a sea of sharks.

Your crime, you bit a neighbors pet,
Your face was glum,
You showed regret;
You were bred by man to attack,
You ripped, you tore, a bloodied sack.
You looked at me over shoulder,
You had done your duty as a soldier
You had acted on your genetic nature,
Now they called you a vicious creature
.
Your Groucho Marx eyes caught my attention;
I had them remove you from detention;
And then you crouched at my feet;
Docile and pleasing, passing sweet.
Men and women can maim and kill,
We too are creatures of our genetic will.;

My dog barks at every guest,
Then wags her tail and acts a pest,
Demanding that she be groomed,
That she be petted around the room;

I too bark at every stranger,
Sensing in them latent danger,
Then I move around the room
and sing to each a happy tune.