A reading of a rousing poem about independence: “Lone Dog” written by Irene Rutherford McLeod
Channel: CHRYSANTHEMUM STORIES
Date: 2018-07-31

https://whatthechrysanthemumknows.com/2018/02/26/lone-dog/

I‘M a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog, and lone;
I’m a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own;
I’m a bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep;
I love to sit and bay the moon, to keep fat souls from sleep.

I’ll never be a lap dog, licking dirty feet,
A sleek dog, a meek dog, cringing for my meat —
Not for me the fireside, the well-filled plate,
But shut door, and sharp stone, and cuff and kick, and hate.

Not for me the other dogs, running by my side;
Some have run a short while, but none of them would bide.
O mine is still the lone trail, the hard trail, the best,
Wide wind, and wild stars, and hunger of the quest!
 
Reading Selection:

Lone Dog by Irene Rutherford McLeod. (1955). In E. Markham (Ed.), Anthology of the World’s Best Poems (Memorial Ed., Vol. I, p. 576). New York: Wm.H. Wise & Co.