My Dog Sees Ghosts

Photo of Cowgirl Marble Engel by Diana Ewell Engel

Humor Through Personification

We could use a bit of cheer in the gray month of February just ahead.  To dovetail with the previous post, “What Animal Would You Be,” I present “My Dog Sees Ghosts.” This is a true experience, and to this day, I am convinced our dear Cowgirl was a clairvoyant! I hope that you enjoy my poem.  As always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas.

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Do you know an animal that detects spiritual beings? What have you observed?

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An epigraph from “How To Like It,” a poem by American poet Stephen Dobyns, introduces my poem. Next time, I will share about the use of an epigraph—how a vivid quote can serve as inspiration for us as we write and also open the door for the reader into our individual poems.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

My Dog Sees Ghosts 

… he can see 
remembered faces/                                     
caught up 
among the dark places 
in the trees./
- Stephen Dobyns

Cowgirl’s gaze fixes
on nothing/ 
but this “nothing”/ 
is more than 
a Milk Bone/ 
or a prized piece 
of smoked turkey./

Every muscle tenses,/ 
locks into high-alert,/
as if she hears a twister/
miles away, a hooley/ 
gathering steam,/
tearing 
frightfully near./
  
Someone/ 
has silently entered, 
a presence/
only she can detect./

I would delight/
in hearing 
an untouched door 
slam,/
a cabinet creak open/
or see a glass drift, 
as if held,/
through the air./

Cowgirl sees ghosts./ 

My certainty is akin/
to how I know 
someone/ 
is creeping up 
behind me,/
or when the face 
of a friend in despair/
flashes across my mind./
Goosebumps pepper 
my arms,/
a beloved voice sings,/
my heart seizes 
into a fist./

I beg Cowgirl/
to share 
this uncanny gift/
of spirit sighting,/
to teach me,/
but she flatly refuses./

This clairvoyant canine/ 
stares bewildered,/
twitching her Yoda ears,/
every nerve fiber 
attuned/
to the next visitation./

-Diana Ewell Engel
                 

Photo of Cowgirl Marble Engel by Diana Ewell Engel