it's p.m.s. poem tuesday

Welcome to a new feature on my blog -- PMS Poem Tuesday.

(Dear Male Reader: please do not let the title of this post preclude you from enjoying the following poem. The PMS Poem Tuesday poems aren't about a certain topic, they merely reflect a certain crankiness. I promise not to refer to a certain event in way other than in the title.)

The following poem was unwittingly submitted to me by my brother-in-law Lawyer.

It is by the poet Billy Collins.

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun In The House

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking./ He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark/ that he barks every time they leave the house./ They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking./ I close all the windows in the house/ and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast/ but I can still hear him muffled under the music./ barking, barking, barking.

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,/ his head raised confidently as if Beethoven/ had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,/ sitting there in the oboe section barking/ his eyes fixed on the conductor who is/ entreating him with his baton.

while the other musicians listen in respectful/ silence to the famous barking dog solo,/ that endless coda that first established/ Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Thanks Billy. My sentiments exactly.

Although I cannot promise this post topic will always occur on a Tuesday, it will be a regular feature. If you have a poem you would like included in the next P.M.S. Poem Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Friday) please let me know. I'm sure there has to be something by Emily D. that would work. Or maybe Walt . . . The possibilities are endless .....