"Dogs That Kill Chickens" (poem) >>> Once A Cheater ...
Once a cheater, always a cheater.
"So ... why didn't you just say that?"
To say in six words what could be said in six stanzas, replete with meter, rhythm and rhyme (both internal and tail) ... is why poets get paid the big bucks!
As always, beat me up in the Comments section.
Paul
Cute!
Actually, I had a dog once who followed me home - literally - and she did kill a couple of chickens the first time. On someone's advice we did just that - hung it around her neck for about a week.
I tell you the truth, she never did it again!!! She'd even lie there and let the chickens eat from her bowl!!! So, yes - sounds cruel, but less cruel than giving her up because she killed a chicken.
@viking-ventures,
The poem was a metaphor based upon a true story.
As I child, I lived on a horse farm outside of Regina, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan farmers are serious about their profession and don't like city-slickers buying up good farm land for hobbies. To try to appear more "farmer-like," we raised chickens, turkeys and maintained several bee hives. Of course, we had no idea what we were doing so my Mom and Dad were often on the phone with Ed and Kay, our neighbors, and real farmers.
One day, my dog, Sonny (the best friend I ever had), killed a chicken.
My Dad called Ed for advice. Ed said, "shoot the dog." My Dad told Ed that he would lose a son. Ed replied,"You have two other sons, you don't need the third." Eventually, Ed offered up the chicken-around-the-neck alternative but warned that it most often didn't work. Blood, once tasted, turned dogs into wolves.
The next week was the longest in Sonny's life. Mine too. I wanted to help him but I knew this was his second chance. The maggot-infested corpse let off a stench, in the scorching Saskatchewan summer, that defied description.
When finally emancipated, Sonny appeared to have learned his lesson. He wanted nothing to do with chickens. A parolee, he appeared prepared to start a new life. A month or so later, we found a chicken corpse close to the creek where we kept our beehives. Sonny had remnants of blood-encrusted plumage stuck to the fur around his mouth. He had indeed learned a lesson: Don't kill chickens close to the house and barn ... or you'll get caught.
Ed had been right.
Once "taboo boundaries" are crossed, they're gone for good, because, in their crossing, they lose their sacredness: And hence, their power to self-forbid. Eve eating the apple. Caesar crossing the Rubicon. A choice is made, and the consequence of so choosing ... changes you.
Like a stroke of Divine intervention, my Dad (a Mountie) got transferred from Regina to Halifax in Nova Scotia. We kept the horses ... but never again pretended to be chicken farmers. We started tapping Maple trees instead! Sonny lived for several more years before developing Hip Dysplasia and ever-more crippling arthritis. Eventually, we had to have him put down. Even now, some 35 years later, my eyes well in the recounting.
A boy and his dog.
Thank you for sharing - it's amazing how many stories we recall from those farming days - even if we cannot remain farming for whatever reason.
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I love the dog
@nationall,
You're a poet. That's all you've got!
... "I love the dog." (I have to admit, he is a good-looking pooch. But he does look a bit guilty, doesn't he?)
I gave you Commentary Gold.
The dog is the antagonist. He's Anakin ... whose becomes Darth Vader. Can the dog ever again be trusted around chickens? Can a cheating spouse ever again be trusted not to cheat?
Where, sir, is your pen?
It is true that the dog is guilty in this case
But the dog is the loyal animal for man
@nationall,
Until he kills the man's chicken. :-)
It is not allowed to leave the dog in front of the hen
Because he is an animal and has a tendency to attack and kill
But as I said the dog always the loyal companion