WHY DO I CHASE THEE from Elizabeth Basset Browning & Other Canine Masters

Ever wonder why dogs don't write more poetry? Well, if you have (or if you have now that I've framed that question), this book is for you. Jessica Swaim has come up with a bookful of parody poems, in which celebrated dog poets explain lots of things . . . why they chase their tails, how fish compares to meat ("thou art more flaccid and more apt to spoil"), the horror of being neutered, and more.

Each of the sixteen canine poets is introduced with a "bio" page that looks something like this one, for "Rover Frost", with terrific artwork done by Chet Phillips:



It's followed by two parody poems: a short version of "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" entitled "Sizing Up Shoes on a Soulful Evening", and a parody of Frost's "Rose" entitled "Nose". Here's that poem:

Nose
by Jessica Swaim, writing as Rover Frost

A nose is a nose,
And was always a nose.
And a dog licks his nose
When the nose overflows,
And the slicker it grows,
'Til it glistens and glows.
You can bet your sweet toes,
Nothing's nice as a nose,
Unless it's a tongue,
Or a tail, I suppose.

Here is Jessica Swaim reading the title poem aloud, while images from the book go by:



If you are a dog-loving poetry lover, or know one, this book might just be the thing you need in your (or their) stocking this year.

Here, as a bonus, is "Disillusionment" by Dorothy Barker (a terrier much like Dorothy Parker):

Disillusionment
by Jessica Swaim, writing as Dorothy Barker

My health fell apart
When I met a Maltese.
I gave him my heart.
He gave me his fleas.