Ada Poem 1

after christopher smart.

(http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1945.html)


1. for i will consider my dog ada
2. for ada does no longer think of me as a littermate
3. for she collects balls of sand at her eye corners -- and in this resembles mitzi
4. for she knows how to turn over while being brushed
5. for she hops like a puppy down the hall to do a greeting
6. for she is a haven of sand
7. and her color is that of sand
8. and the sand rounds her claws at their tips
9. for she is slow up the stairs, and dodgy down
10. for she would not walk across the cardboard without direct entreaty, and food
11. for she is the start of a hundred conversations
12. and she mortified the election day lady at the corner
13. for she is vexed by the vacuum hose
14. and does not like to see large objects carried
15. for her spaying scar is long, discolored, and bubbly
16. for she gnaws at the hair of those who recline
17. and once poked me in the eye
18. and made my vision cloudy for a day
19. for she waits in bed
20. for she flattens upon the cool tile
21. for she narbles a hoof in the brown bean bag
22. for she knows that she is on the third story
23. for her nose is at the glass
24. for mirrors she feels little
25. but is perturbed by the sides of shiny cars