There’s still enough wolf in our Springer
spaniel bitch for her to know how to cut
through the umbilicus with her canine teeth,
tear the sac that protects her newborn puppies
and lick away what’s left so that they take
their first, miraculous breath, slipping
and mewing out into the world. I take
a breather in the back garden from all
of this new life, wondering how she can know
what to do when she has never given birth
before. The bright sunlight dazzles my eyes
after the darkness of the whelping room.
I blink in the light without knowing a thing
about it before it happens, reflexively.
Comments
maisie | June 1, 2011 - 12:31
great subject matter - dealt with so well. really enjoyed reading this.
Highhat | June 1, 2011 - 15:29
The wonders of nature !
JoseHdz | June 2, 2011 - 06:18
this is excellent. love the casual/natural feeling/tone of this..especially liked the 'reflexively.'
congrats on the well deserved cherries.
Jose..
Aronowitz | June 2, 2011 - 09:29
Thanks for the kind comments.
blighters rock: a nice little dig...
You have written for "Purple Ficton", I see: do you know Mark Fishman, one of its editors, and Elein Fleiss in Paris? Mark's a very good friend of mine.
barryj1 | June 2, 2011 - 15:22
Very intriguing poem! Like nothing I've ever read before. Beautiful stuff. And I read this on the very day that I dropped my over-sexed lhasa apso off at the vet to be neutered. But that's a story for another day.
the unfolding head | June 3, 2011 - 11:03
really enjoyed these lines...
"The bright sunlight dazzles my eyes
after the darkness of the whelping room."
nice one!
Nathan Bednarek | June 3, 2011 - 21:33
Quite a graphic poem, but done very well. I agree with Barry- like nothing I've ever read before.
A well deserved cherry.
Nathan.