Snowball!
A Poetic Tribute to the West Highland White Terrier
The prompt for Ellie's Wonderland Challenge is the word "White." That brought to mind two white beasts that live with me- my West Highland Terrier dogs, Cloudy and Snowball,
For those unfamiliar with this dog breed, it has a somewhat sad history. Colonel Edward Donald Malcolm, bred it after shooting one of his reddish-brown Terriers (possibly a Cairn Terrier) during a hunt.
And so it is that I write a tribute poem to the West Highland Terrier. Enjoy!
૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (
They drenched me in white,
Pale ghost in Highland's heath--
To stand out from rustle and spite
To live, not embrace death.
૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (
So the hunter's eye floundered--
"Too close in red, like a fox," he said,
He pulled the rifle's trigger
And left my small form crumpled.
૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (
Not just a ball of fur,
Or just white on the plains
But a heart, warm and sincere,
Torn by silent strain.
૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (
Now every Snowball howls gently--
Furballs borne of pain,
They do survive, an honoured gentry,
Pure strength in what remains.
૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (
૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎ (◕ᴥ◕ʋ)૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ ₍՞•ﻌ•՞₎
Original poem by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
Keep reading
More stories from Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin and writers in Poets and other communities.
Do you understand haiku?
Do you ever get sidetracked when writing? I do. I think it must be in the nature of the creative mind to draw connections and have a need to explore them. Since the World Wide Web became established in the 1990s, this has become a lot easier to do. The phenomenon being described as ‘going down a wormhole.’ Sometimes a distraction, but I have written some of my best work when I have disappeared down one web wormhole or another. It also happened in the days when most of my research was book based so we can't blame it on the internet. Book research was just slower. These days, guided by my AI friend, it is much, much quicker.
By Raymond G. Taylor4 days ago in Poets
Comments (8)
This is sad. For the past two days I’ve been very sensitive when reading sad stories about innocent loving animals. 💔 But your Snowball is lovely. I love you named them Cloudy and Snowball. 💕💕
Snowball is so adorable <3
Oh my, I had no idea about that. Loved your poem!
Gorgeous work Michelle! What a Powerful ending! 💪🏾🌸 Well done!
You have taught me today! I never knew of the background of this breed/color. Enjoyed your artwork, too.
Cute Snowball!
That original story is sad but beautifully reclaimed! Give Cloudy and Snowball the biggest cuddles from me. They’ve earned all the treats for being such brave, beautiful little legends! 💖
Poor doggie...he still hunts out there somewhere.