THE DOGS OF MANTOVA

The dogs of Mantova have many styles
The walking lampshade and the wriggling rug
The quiet Jack Russell (on a speedy drug?)
The gaunt Alsations with alarming smiles
The wonderfully ugly church-faced pug
The sad St. Bernard with the drooping mug
That seems most fitting to cathedral aisles.
The little dogs who seem to have no fear
But shimmy up to big dogs seeking fun
The big dogs looking puzzled, primed to run,
Their people tugging leashes, thinking "Queer..."
Perhaps it is a doggish kind of pun
Which ought to be ignored whenever done
How dogs approach each other from the rear.
At any rate, in art and on the street
Mantovan dogs are always good to meet.

Audrey Laski