Ten Poems About Dogs

The dogs that sniff and scamper their way through the pages of this mini-anthology are of all shapes and sizes. There are hairy dogs, wonky dogs, corgis and pugs. There’s a puppy that loves to swim in the sea and a dog that barks all day until its owners come home again.

We can’t help loving dogs, even when their mischief exasperates us. In one poem, we hear a dog describing its unsociable antics in a voice that’s humorously confident of its owner’s unconditional love:

“I know you love me. Oh yes you do!
Just look at my big brown eyes gazing at you.”

from ‘Corgi’ by Carole Bromley

The poems celebrate the mild mayhem that owning a dog brings, as well as the many moments of fun, companionship and joy. They demonstrate that dogs are indeed “a miniature illumination” in our human lives.

Selected by Di Slaney.

Poems by Herbert Asquith, Carole Bromley, Jeanette Burton, Jane Burn, Billy Collins, Jehanne Dubrow, Vince Foxall, Caleb Parkin, Siegfried Sassoon and Stevie Smith.

Cover illustration by Sam Cannon.