Day One

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

by Billy Collins

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.

I can relate to the disruption of concentration that a barking dog (especially a high pitched little dog) can create.  I need silence to create.  I live in an apartment and can hear all sorts of noises, including the yipping dog in a yard a block away.  I hear the dog with my windows shut! 

The transition to an oboe section is a delight and I can just picture that little rascal with his staccato input.  Beethoven was an "innovative genius" and Billy Collins is a poetic genius!

Poem copied from http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/billy_collins/poems/11282