“Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The dog trots freely in the street
and sees reality
and the things he sees are bigger than himself
and the things he sees are his reality
Drunks in doorways
Moons on trees
The dog trots freely thru the street
and the things he sees are smaller than himself
Fish on newsprint
Ants in holes
Chickens in Chinatown windows their heads a block away
The dog trots freely in the street
and the things he smells smell something like himself
The dog trots freely in the street
past puddles and babies
cats and cigars
poolrooms and policemen
He doesn’t hate cops
He merely has no use for them
and he goes past them
and past the dead cows hung up whole
in front of the San Francisco Meat Market
He would rather eat a tender cow than a tough policeman
though either might do
And he goes past the Romeo Ravioli Factory
and past Coit’s Tower
and past Congressman Doyle of the Unamerican Committee
He’s afraid of Coit’s Tower but he’s not afraid of Congressman Doyle
although what he hears is very discouraging
very depressing
very absurd
to a sad young dog like himself
to a serious dog like himself
But he has his own free world to live in
His own fleas to eat
He will not be muzzled
Congressman Doyle is just another fire hydrant to him
The dog trots freely in the street
and has his own dog’s life to live
and to think about
and to reflect upon
touching and tasting and testing everything
investigating everything without benefit of perjury
a real realist
with a real tale to tell
and a real tail to tell it with
a real live barking democratic dog
engaged in real free enterprise
with something to say about ontology
something to say about reality and how to see it
and how to hear it
with his head cocked sideways at street corners
as if he is just about to have his picture taken for Victor Records
listening for His Master’s Voice and looking like a living questionmark
into the great gramophone of puzzling existence with its wondrous hollow horn which always seems just about to spout forth some Victorious answer to everything…
