Cody's Gifts by Taylor Graham

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Cody's Gifts
by
Taylor Graham

She fetches me a stick, then sports it

out of reach. I watch the shadow

of her leaps

as sun leaves purple splotches under pines.

She brings a tennis ball. I throw

it away, she prances it back. I refuse

to taste its history of serves and volleys;

tight-sprung strings; its flights.

She shares her panting, dog-words

I only partly understand.

But I know the peculiar amber focus

of her eyes.

Without a calendar, her tongue exults

in equinox. This new

spring morning, her gift is dances

on the tilt of earth.

This poem first appeared in Hidden Oak.
Used here with the author’s permission.

Taylor Graham is a volunteer search-and-rescue dog handler in the Sierra Nevada. Author of numerous books, her work is also included in the anthologies Villanelles (Everyman’s Library, 2012) and California Poetry: From the Gold Rush to the Present (Santa Clara University, 2004). Taylor’s current project, What the Wind Says, forthcoming from Lummox Press, is a collection of dog poems about living with her canine search partners over the past 40 years. Learn more about Taylor at www.somersetsunset.net.

Donna Pflueger:
Taylor, your poem perfectly captured a dog's spirit - I especially loved the second stanza. What an honor and a privilege to work with these wonderful dogs. I envy you! Thank you for sharing.
Posted 03/20/2014 10:25 AM

debrabruce:
Beautiful, taut language and images--thank you.
Posted 03/20/2014 09:31 AM

Sherry:
I love the part about Cody's amber eyes. We love our dogs!
Posted 03/20/2014 08:59 AM

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