Today, March 21, 2023, is the World Poetry Day. To celebrate this special occasion we let ourselves be inspired by our furry friends and decided to share some with our readers poems about dogs and cats.
World Poetry Day was established by theUNESCO in 1999 and celebrated for the first time in 2000. On this day we want to celebrate one of the most precious forms of linguistic and cultural expression and identity for all humanity. Through poetry we promote dialogue, understanding, diversity and peace.
The nocturnal dog by Giovanni Pascoli
John Pastures (1855-1912), famous local poet, dedicated a poem to the dog. During the night, in the silence of the valley, interrupted by the song of the crickets and the murmur of the Serchio river, the poet hears the barking of a dog.
Starting with the sound of this Nocturnal dog a universe of unanswered questions opens up.
The night dog
In the high night I hear between querulous
trills of crickets, I hear among the murmur
rainy of the Serchio than in flood
passes in the serene shade,
there in the dark valley where they wander
sun, seen by no one, the fireflies,
ringing from far away
veiled the bark of a dog.
Who there passing late for tacit
streets, between black bush hedges,
with the echo of footsteps, in a threshing floor
woke that dog, what a bark?
Part? Come back? tears? Do you doubt?
He has closed words in his heart that beat
with the sound of alternate clocks?
Does it have a shadow, which is alone with alone?
It goes! It goes! The watchful voice tells him
sounding ironic di tra le tenebre.
It shines through the thick trees
the house, which seems to listen…
As if between sleep, he closed his lids
its great… The man sleeps, and a mindful
his arm, on the bed of leaves,
he stays with his florid wife.
And he sleeps in the tusk of glass
the baby, and the other little ones are sleeping.
They chase each other in the dark with wings
of flies their equal breaths.
Same same, they pass they come back
with a light hum, in the darkness
looking for; and the anime again
they seek each other, until dawn,
for the ignored long lanes
of sleep; and finally they are reunited;
and bursts into the day
the cheerful voice of the return.
Ode to the cane by Pablo Neruda
Also Pablo Neruda (all’anagraph Richard Eliezer Naphtali Kings Basoalto), Cylean poet Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971dedicated a poem about the sincere friendship between man and dog entitled Ode al cane.
Ode al cane
The dog asks me
and I don’t answer.
Jump, run through the fields and
he asks me without speaking
and her eyes are two wet questions,
two questioning liquid flames
and I don’t answer,
I don’t answer why
I don’t know, nothing I can say.
In the middle of the fields we go
man and dog.
The leaves shine like
if anyone
had kissed them
one by one,
they rise from the ground
all oranges
to place
small planetariums
in round trees
like the night, and green,
and man and dog we go
sniffing the world, shaking the clover,
for the fields of Chile,
between the clear fingers of September.
The dog stops
runs after bees,
the restless water jumps,
listen far away
bark, urinate on a stone
and brings me the tip of his muzzle,
to me, as a gift.
It’s hers tender impertinence,
the communication of his affection,
and there he asked me
with his two eyes,
because it is day, because the night will come,
why spring
he did not bring in his basket
nothing for wandering dogs,
but useless flowers,
flowers and more flowers.
This asks me
the dog
and I don’t answer.
Let’s go
man and dog united
from the green morning,
from the exciting empty solitude
in which only we exist,
this unit of a dewy dog
and a poet of the forest,
because there is no hidden bird,
nor the secret flower,
only trills and perfumes
for the two companions,
for two fellow hunters:
a dampened world
from the distillations of the night,
a green gallery and then
a large meadow,
a gust of orange wind,
the whisper of the roots,
walking life,
breathe, grow,
and the old friendship,
joy
of being a dog and being a man
transformed
in one animal
who walks moving
six legs
and a tail
drenched in dew.
Maria Vanni’s dog
The author of poetic verses for children in the 50s Maria Vanni, instead celebrates man’s best friend with a poem that seems to have been written by Fido, in couplet rhyme verses. The title is simple: The dog.
The dog
I watch the house, I drive the flock,
in the thick wood the fair nests.
And to my dear master it makes me
my ever watchful fidelity.
soon to followready to challenge
any danger to him save;
every sweet chain becomes,
if my master keeps me near.
From the white peaks of Saint Bernard
the snows flow good and vigorous:
intent upon that born of the traveler
to whom I bring hope, life and vigor.
And even intrepid I defy the wave
to bring it safely above the bank
the man who badly trusted you,
or the careless child whose foot was missing.
Don’t seem strange this saying of mine:
I teach man himself affection;
when, the dead master to follow,
to his grave I run to die.
Charles Baudelaire’s cat
The “cursed poet” Charles Baudelaire, on the other hand, put his artistic vein at the service of felines, with a poem on cats in which the artist manages to capture all the facets of the relationship between man and cat.
The cat
Come beautiful catcome on my loving heart;
hold your claws
that I sink into your beautiful eyes of agate and metal.
When comfortable my fingers long
they caress your head and supple back,
and my drunken hand enjoys touching your electric body,
I see my wife in spirit:
deep and cold like yours, his gaze, lovable beast,
penetrates sharp as if it were an arrow,
and from feet to head
a thin air, risky effluvium,
all around it turns its brown body.
Musotondo at Lina Schwartz
Pupil of the aforementioned Maria Vanni, the childhood poet Lina Black he dedicated a poem praising his cat in physique and character. Here you go Musotondo:
Musotondo
My round face cat
green eyes and blond fur,
with the impertinent nose
mocking seems to people;
she’s a full-on jerk
which makes a new one every day.
Right now the rascal
got stuck in a hat,
faces you as a master,
as if it were his balcony,
e from there he contemplates the world
my cat Muzzle.
My kitten by Jolanda Restano
Finally, we conclude this roundup of poems about dogs and cats with a contemporary composition by Jolanda Restano, which perfectly describes the joy that his feline friend brings to a cat’s life!
My kitty
When I’m a little down,
mostly sad and sad,
I am alone and disconsolate
or, conversely, a little agitated,
there is only one solution
to save the day!
I take in my arms
my kitty
e I cuddle him a little.
Then I hug him
and I stroke it:
his affection is priceless!
He purrs, he loves me,
so ease my pains.
Stay with me, warm my heart,
give me some love.
And happy and cheerful
I’m always in his company!
My cat, what a skill,
it is for me the best cure!