So spake the Lord

                  God summoned a beast from the field and said,
            "Behold, man is created in my image.  Therefore adore him.
                       You shall protect in the wilderness,
                   shepherd his flocks, watch over his children,
            accompany him wherever he may go ~even into civilization.
                   You shall be his companion, his ally, his slave.
                          To do these things, God said,
               I endow you with instincts uncommon to other beasts:
                           Faithfulness, Devotion and
                 Understanding surpassing those of man himself.
                          Lest it impair your courage,
                       you shall never foresee your death.
                           Lest it impair your loyalty,
                      you shall be blind to the faults of man.
                        Lest it impair your understanding,
                       you are denied the power of words.
                    Speak to your master only with your mind
                          and through your honest eyes.
                      Walk by his side; sleep in his doorway;
                      forage for him; ward off his enemies;
                      carry his burden; share his afflictions,
                             love and comfort him.
                             And in return for this,
                      man will fulfill your needs and wants ~
                  which shall be only food, shelter and affection.
                       So be silent and be a friend to man.
                      Guide him through the perils along the
                      way to this land I have promised him.
                  This shall be your destiny and your immortality.
              So spake the Lord.  And the dog heard, and was content.

 

   The Queensland Dog

                                Author unknown
            A stranger came from New South Wales, and he was tall and brown,
              He lined up beside us at the bar and sank his schooners down.
               And all the while, to pass the time, he told us doubtful tales
            Of the country he laid claim to, that remarkable New South Wales….
                   With soil so rich and fertile, so ran his line of talk,
            That pumpkin vines fair sprinted along, as fast as a man can walk.
            He said it took two hours sometimes, to ride through the hollow logs,
           For the timber grew so thick and tall… ..and then he mentioned DOGS!
                  Little McGinnis spoke up then, arising from his seat,
               "I dunno about them other things, but in dogs we got ya beat"
           "I was boundary ridin' once," he said, "on a station out Longreach way,
              And lost me bearin's among them hills, right at the end of day.
             So I let the old moke poke along and find his own way in the dark,
               Until in the distance I saw a light and then I heard him bark.
                Well, station dogs are mostly noise, I never took no heed,
               I only wanted me bearin's, and I could have done wiv a feed.
                So I went on ridin' towards the light, just followin' me nose,
                And then I heard him bark agin and this time he's up close!
             I needn't 'ave worried, he's only a dog, the kind the cockies keep,
             That chase the Dingos away all night, then lay all day and sleep.
             When we gits nearer 'e whines a bit, friendly and quiet and deep.
            Then he stands on his hind legs to lick me face, and I see his gentle eye,
              and his dusty coat and wagging tail by the starlight in the sky.
                And the horse I was sittin' on was seventeen hands high!"
            The stranger paled and admitted, with the wind took out of his sails,
            That dogs do grow bigger in Queensland than they do in New South Wales!

Go to more poems.