It is raining cats and dogs I see
Weather forecast says it’s mostly beastly
Umbrellas ain’t no good
Can’t go out for food
We’ll just stay home and watch AKC/CFA* on TV
*American Kennel Club/Cat Fanciers Association
our porch shows what hillbillies live like
because we might as well be from Arkansas or Tennessee
We are creekers – people who live in van down by the river
stepladder, two side tables, one long glass table
glider, barbeque grill, shovels, spades, garden gloves
straw hat, hoe, mud-caked wheeled cart
six twelve-packs of water
dog kennel for a nine- hundred -pound dog
(which we have never used)
mismatched lawn furniture
broken umbrella
refrigerator, full sized, not one of those pussy ones
two night stands
giant fan with dog hair stuck to it
fold up chairs that were dragged in mud
sign with two cartoon dogs
the sign says welcome to our home
Buddy and Beau
It should say Welcome to Hillbilly Heaven
On the Desk of Darkness
On a Monsoon Night,
The afflatus roars in clouds,
And albedo fills the sight.
In the darkened gorge,
Among the alleys
And gravelled ways,
A lass on a jade.
Apathy of her own,
Gazing upon the dog in the kennel,
Barking and crying at it.
And when she gazed and gazed upon
The dog of ash on kindlings,
A murmur of sight on her lips,
And a wet eye with a glaze.
With a jolt, she stood up —
The roar now a voice,
The sight now white,
And the white now light.
From sight to light,
And light to white.
My dogs have an enormous play yard
Much better than being in a kennel or tied up
Still, I feel guilty when they are up there alone.
So, I trot up there to keep them company.
I sit in this play yard forty minutes at a time.
Writing while they settle into the play of dog.
We have six acres of land.
Our dogs used to stay on our six acres.
This new puppy is a social butterfly.
When anyone walks up or down the road he runs after them.
To socialize, be friendly, party.
A bad influence on his brother dog who is easily led.
Three dogs at the groomers, three hours till there done
go out to eat lunch, have Italian tasty and fun
Entrees served, cell phone rings
Kublai's eye bleeding, doggie bags they bring
Get Kublai to the vet, has pulps on his eyelid
surgery to remove them, clean teeth as he's out on meds
Back to the groomers Ghenghis barking up a storm
Sassy nervous growls as trimming her nails performed
Ghenghis happy to see me looks like a puppy all prim
Sassy frighten harder to get her in kennel second time
Home with those two back to the vet
Kublai ready to go home in my lap he sit
His eyelid fixed and had two teeth pulled
Kublai wearing a cone feeling like a fool
He got stuck under a end table wouldn't back up
the cone came off Kublai as Ghenghis sniffed his butt
Kublai in a deep sleep Sassy licks his eye
Ghenghis begging as I eat my Italian wanting a bite to try.
Lady was my shepherd dog,,
she was so kind and gentle
except to chickens down the lane
when she broke loose from her kennel.
Let's turn attention to a breed
that came from Pomerania.
Queen Victoria for such dogs
was seized by a lifelong mania.
On canine matters I'll not stray..
Long lectures are so stuffy.
Rather, it's my firm intent
to describe a dog called Fluffy
.
She shares with Pomeranians
a propensity to bark
but still she wins the hearts of all
when I take her to the park.
A dream has just revealed to me
that Fluffy and Lady have met.
Oh how I feared the next event
would see poor Fluffy dead.
You 'll never guess what happened..
The two became best friends.
To heaven they flew on a fluffy cloud
and here my story ends.
A fox slips easily through
the bars
of a garden gate.
Dog barking,
chained to
an imaginary kennel.
Fold her like a pretzel
Girl be going mental
Nuttin in her mouth
Now I’m messing up her dental
Treat it like a rental
Park it in the temple
Riding with the homies
And we dawging in the kennel
Shawty sentimental
Body instrumental
Tryna tie me down
But I’m moving continental
Dancing like a stripper
Shake it like a teaser
Louding up the music
How I’m playing on the speaker
It’s so cold in winter
Turning on the heater
Linking up with baddies
Now she calling me a cheater
Tryna make that money
I ain’t tryna keep her
Flowing on that base
How I’m balling like I’m Jeter.
Amidst the weeping rain,
the hours refuse to move
as if they feel hard to bear
everything stagnated
adding more to strain and pain.
In this pit dark new moon night
gusty winds and non stop rain
led to power off and all stand still
adding more to strain and pain
The rain with thunder
made no human voice heard
but little later a whine
adding more to strain and pain
Dogs and puppies wail
as their kennel struck with a log
rushed to pull it apart
and to part from the strain and pain.
Darkness and silence threatens
when a little sound or light is sensed
catch it, release someone
you will be relaxed.
Amidst the weeping rain,
the hours refuse to move
wait, that too will pass
hope sustains life.
Ebony Cat went from person to person demanding love
He hit them, smacked them, scratched them, spit from above.
The more he tried for attention, the more annoyed they got.
He stayed in a kennel so long, he thought he would rot.
An empathetic faerie who had a love for cats saw this.
When she came to help him, he met her with a mean hiss.
You have a lot of love to give, she said. Let me show how.
By the time she was done, he was adopted with a happy meow.
Second Kennel
So the rabid dog left his kennel to go steal another kennel
This kennel belonged to a relative and was quite nice
But it was a bit smaller and not as well equipped
Still the dog wanted it and went for it
Trying to steal it take it use abuse it
Why have one kennel when you can have two?
Acquired by other means no matter what method
The dog is crazy but in his mind all is fine normal the world
It turns and he tells a story as he sees it
All things rabid not quite right up there
They say command is the loneliest place
Even God gets lonely so he made Satan
Even if enemies God aint alone there
Unlike the dog giving orders do this and that
Go get my second kennel even if it breaks
I want that kennel don't let them keep it
It must belong to me!
Sometimes the day has a framework.
You know how to color in
inside the lines
then there are the other kind
when the hours run out of the sides
of your eyes
you fumble through
and it's still okay
but that lumbering shaggy dog of your mind
has to scratch at an itch
you once thought you had cured.
Such daze seek a kennel to fill,
however, that kind of shelter
has sharp nails in it
so you make yourself small
just for a while.
Dropped my last chocolate cookie, whilst turning around
Disappeared into a vacuum, never reaching the ground
Not so much as a crumb, was recovered or found
Strangely, my dog did teleport to his kennel, without making a sound
YOUR BEST FOUR-LINE LIGHT VERSE Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: L MILTON HANKINS
16/08/2021
Beautiful moon
first phase people search
the kennel.
Castle of wonder appeared again tonight
She settled into her dream, anticipating greatness
Her slumber self was successful, borderline brilliant
She had created a village of hope for animals and people
She was revered and loved, and treated with respect here
Many ran to her, asking her opinion. She was sought out.
Can we build another playground for the children?
She did not see why not. Money was no object.
What about the dog kennel? Can we add an addition?
Of course, she agreed, writing a check for two million dollars.
You are the best! The woman said, giving her the best hug.
She woke up in an exceptionally good mood.
Her heat had been turned off, but that was okay.
She understood that.
She opened her cat food and began to add a bit of mayo.
It made it more palatable.
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.