Dogs, beloved companions of humanity, inspire poems that capture their loyalty, unconditional love, and joyful spirits. These poems celebrate the bond between humans and dogs, depicting their role as faithful friends and guardians.
In these verses, poets often explore dogs’ unique characteristics and personalities, their playful antics, and their unwavering devotion. They paint portraits of wagging tails, wet noses, and soulful eyes that reflect a deep connection to their human counterparts.
These poems may delve into the universal themes of companionship and the healing power of the human-animal bond. They evoke emotions of warmth, comfort, and the profound impact dogs have on our lives, providing solace and companionship in times of joy and sorrow.
‘A Dog Has Died’ by Pablo Neruda is a heart-wrenching eulogy for the poet’s much-loved, deceased dog that also explores the dog’s personality and interactions with the speaker.
Neruda composed this piece in response to his own dog’s death. In the first lines, he states, very clearly, as was his style, that his dog died and was buried, and one day he too will join him in the ground. These lines are conveyed without emotion, as though death was a simple fact of life. The conclusion comes back around to a simple statement of fact “he’s gone…and that’s all there is to it”.
In ‘Lost Dog,’ Bass captures the emotional rollercoaster of losing and being reunited with a beloved pet, highlighting the deep bond between humans and animals.
In ‘Lost Dog’ Bass tells the story of an owner’s search for their lost dog. She took familiar actions, called the dog’s name and listened carefully for the sound of his “tag against collar” but there was nothing. Very suddenly it turns out that all is fine. The dog made its way home and is none of the things the speaker feared the most.
It's just getting dark, fog drifting in, damp grasses fragrant with anise and mint, and though I call his name until my voice cracks,
‘Epitaph to a Dog’ by Lord Byron is also known as ‘Inscription on the Monument to a Newfoundland Dog.’ It was written in 1808 after the poet’s dog Boatswain died of rabies.
Byron's poem is the kind of tribute many people wished they had the skill to pay to their beloved pets. Written after the premature death of his dog, Boatswain, Byron's poem celebrates the dog's many good qualities and laments the fact we do not appreciate dogs as much as we should. He even goes so far as to express anger that dogs and other animals cannot enter Heaven and thus can never be reunited with their owners.
‘Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog’ is a humorous, playful, and extremely concise poem that presents the dog’s feelings of superiority.
As the title suggests, the poem was engraved upon a collar gifted, as well as the dog itself, to Prince Frederick by the poet Alexander Pope. This particular dog is imagined to feel immeasurably more important than other creatures.
‘My Dog Practices Geometry’ by Cathryn Essinger is a warm, light-hearted poem that discusses writing and the relationships between dogs and humans.
In ‘My Dog Practices Geometry’ Essinger addresses her fellow poets and pushes back against a dislike of personification. The most poignant parts of the poem depict the speaker’s dog using “geometry” to track squirrels or rabbits in the yard. The poem is upbeat, humorous, and exciting as the last lines depict the dog chasing down a squirrel, and then getting waylaid by their own opinion of their owner’s powers.
I do not understand the poets who tell me that I should not personify. Every morning the willow auditions for a new role
‘Dharma’ by Billy Collins is a touching poem about owning a dog, a dog’s life, and how they live better, fuller and freer lives than humans do.
Collins addresses the movements and upbeat personality of a dog who “provides a finer example / of a life without encumbrance”. The dog is more impressive than Thoreau at Walden and Gandhi with “his staff and holy diapers”. The dog does not need possessions, she has only what she carries on her body. The last lines are amusing as they bring in a few things the speaker wishes they could change about the dog. The poem then ends movingly.
In ‘A little Dog that wags his tail’ Emily Dickinson explores themes of human nature, the purpose of life, and freedom. She compares animals, cats and dogs, to adults and children.
This poem is a fantastic example of a poetic rendering of a dog, focusing on its adorable expression of happiness: the wagging of its tail. Dickinson uses the dog's actions to contemplate on the manner of expressing happiness, quickly concluding that humans stop doing so as openly as this when they grow up. The sight of the dog's wagging tail immediately takes the speaker back to their own childhood.
‘Dog’ by Lawrence Ferlinghetti is a philosophically complex poem that uses the perspective of a dog to speak on free will and religion.
in ‘Dog’ Ferlinghetti describes a dog’s perspective. What he sees when he “trots freely thru the street”. There are things that are smaller than himself and larger. He smells things like himself, and unlike himself. The dog does not have use for things like cops nor does he worry about the buildings and factories. He goes on, alluding to politics, freedom, and the proper way to live one’s life.
‘A Dog Named Beau’ by James Stewart is a simple, yet moving poem that describes the poet’s relationship with his dog, Beau.
Also know as ‘Ill Never Forget a Dog Named Beau,’ this poem was written by stage and film actor James Stewart as a tribute to his deceased dog. Beau was a golden retriever who slept in Stewart’s bed, never came when he was called, had no discipline, and even once set the house on fire. The poem concludes solemnly with Beau’s death and the speaker’s phantom image of his dog dissolving.
He never came to me when I would call
Unless I had a tennis ball,
Or he felt like it,
But mostly he didn't come at all.
‘The Power of the Dog’ by Rudyard Kipling is a touching poem about the important relationships that humans develop with their dog companions.
Kipling depicts the undying love that dogs have for their owners. In the guise of a warning, the speaker addresses those who might give their money to buy a dog. They should know that they’re buying “Love unflinching that cannot lie”. There is the undeniable truth that one day, around fourteen years of life, the dog is going to die. It is at this point you will know for sure how much you cared about the dog and your heart will “tear”.
‘Walking the Dog’ by Howard Nemerov is a poem about an owner, his dog, and the walks they go on. The poet expresses the various sights he sees with his pet and the things they do and don’t share.
Howard Nemerov takes the everyday, mundane act of walking one's pet dog and uses it to explore larger questions about the relationship between animal and human, and owner and pet. The poem lingers on the elements that separate the two beings, such as the potency of their sense of smell. This leads the man to question whether the established power dynamic between them is the correct one.
Two universes mosey down the street
Connected by love and a leash and nothing else.
Mostly I look at lamplight through the leaves
While he mooches along with tail up and snout down,
‘To Flush, My Dog’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning was written in loving devoted to the poet’s much-loved, constant companion, Flush.
As the title suggests, this poem is dedicated to the poet’s own dog. Flush was Browning’s cocker spaniel. The dog has been a loving friend to the speaker and she spends time complimenting Flush’s coat and attitude. Bishop also speaks on how he stayed with her throughout everything. His loyalty was unquestionable.
‘The Sea’ is a brilliantly insightful poetic rendering of the sea and its constantly shifting behavior, making it impossible to pin down.
One of the most impressive things about this poem is how easily one can recognize the behaviors of dogs that Reeves describes even though the dog is simply a metaphor used to express his views on the ocean. The changeability of a dog's mood, its loyalty, and the easy way it falls asleep after exerting itself are all masterfully captured in the poem.
The sea is a hungry dog, Giant and grey. He rolls on the beach all day. With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws
‘The Victor Dog’ by James Merrill humorously explores the listener’s perspective, imagining them as the attentive dog on the Victor label.
'The Victor Dog' looks at aesthetics and art from the perspective of a dog, who can listen to music, but never truly understand the emotions in it. The dog is constant, obedient, and loyal, and when compared to other dogs, he represents the way that human beings can respect and appreciate art without understanding it.
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