Lawrence Hall, HSG
Dentistry and Dogs
What would the world be like without dogs?
-Mary Oliver
Our little bit of the world was frozen that day
At the dentist’s office something that makes something else
Do something else was frozen and would not work
And so I waited with Mary’s book about dogs
Dog is one of the
messengers of that rich and still magical first world.
The frost was still upon the windowsill
As an hour passed for me and Mary’s dogs
Their adventures in the woods, their lonely times
Their happy glances into their human’s eyes
Our new dog, named for the
beloved poet, / ate a book
Even though the something else was frozen in ice
Our little bit of the world was warmer for a time
Because of the dog’s
joyfulness, our own is increased
Quotes from Mary Oliver, Dog
Songs, Penguin, New York: 2013
