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The Dogs Will Not Come

A poem about absent environmental leadership. "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings aka Henry Wheeler Shaw. 19th Century American humorist and lecturer.

By Caroline JanePublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 1 min read
The Dogs Will Not Come
Photo by Rachel McDermott on Unsplash

Tears of spilt milk and salt

fill whispering pools. Wrung-out clouds,

licked at by mealy mouths

of dogless sheep.

//

A whistle circles as a hawk

piercing peachy skies, alive

with a hung and urgent

silence.

//

The milksop spreads

drowning banked shores in reflection.

The footloose sheep wade

without ripple.

//

Silted, they bleet out

hollow echoes of leached sentiment

and dip down

to de-louse.

//

The hawk flies away.

The dogs will not come.

nature poetry

About the Creator

Caroline Jane

CJ lost the plot a long time ago. Now, she writes to explore where all paths lead, collecting crumbs of perspective as her pen travels. One day, she may have enough for a cake, which will, no doubt, be fruity.

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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Comments (16)

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  • angela hepworth2 years ago

    Brilliant! A lot to dissect here!

  • The Dani Writer2 years ago

    Now THAT...is some Nature poetry 😍 My favourite line: "...they bleet out hollow echoes of leached sentiment." Mastery that.

  • Christy Munson2 years ago

    Think I need a minute to soak it all in. Masterfully composed, lyrically told, and lovingly stated. Will read and reread til I know it has taken root.

  • Manisha Dhalani2 years ago

    Very nice, Caroline!

  • J2 years ago

    Explosively dynamic and intentional use of vocabulary and allegory. I want to say more, but a true work of art is better felt than explained, so I'll stop here.

  • The footloose sheep wade… my favorite line

  • But that was so sad yet so beautifully written! My favourite line was "The milksop spreads drowning banked shores in reflection."

  • Excellent words and no doubt another Top Story

  • Holly Pheni2 years ago

    Very well written -- and deep!

  • Ashley Shiflett2 years ago

    Wow! BRILLIANT!! ❤️

  • Cathy holmes2 years ago

    I think the dogs have turned into to cats. They only use us for their own gain.

  • Jay Kantor2 years ago

    Cj ~ You always seem to cook-up a laugh as from a 'hyena' from me...Thanks, as always, 'Lefty' Jk

  • Hannah Moore2 years ago

    Brilliant. And somewhat vitriolic.

  • D.K. Shepard2 years ago

    Magnificent piece with intense depth!

  • Paul Stewart2 years ago

    Beautiful. But sad. Just...yeah.

  • Babs Iverson2 years ago

    Exquisitely written!!! ♥️♥️💕

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