The Why's of Life

(or some of them.)




Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House


The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house 
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking.

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra, 
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven 
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful 
silence to the famous barking dog solo, 
that endless coda that first established 
Beethoven as an innovative genius.  

-Billy Collins





(our neighbors' dog is actually quite well-behaved. It is a giant of a Great Dane, more like a lanky colt than a dog. Oh and there's the two cocker spaniels. But they're old and pretty much keep their voices to themselves.   I just like this poem.)