expressive puppies
unashamedly play, nap
pack sticks together
courageous learners
set and test good boundaries
know when to go slow
exploratory
enthusiastic lickers
take time to chew grass
friendly tail waggers
live in the moment snugglers
trust, lean into love
Notes: I’m reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, PhD; Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, JD; and The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron, PhD (thanks to Steve Piper for the recommendation) while the puppies nap. I adopted Sophie and Celeste on 6/2 and 6/8 from a rescue, since then they’ve been providing me with wonderful opportunities to learn from their philosophy of life (a recipe for wholehearted living).
Linked to OLN at dVerse Poets Pub hosted by the fabulous and magnificently talented Joy Ann Jones http://dversepoets.com/2012/06/12/open-link-night-week-48/
Chromapoetica 
Who doesn’t love puppies! You can indeed learn so much from loyal and loving animals. Loved your pictures. 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely! Nice to see you here :).
I now envy puppies, their abandon and camaraderie. Wonderful.
Thanks Beth, me too :)!
Your puppies are precious!!!!!! enjoy them !!!!!!!!
Will do Ayala :)!!!
Ah, yes, it’s a dog’s life…. and it’s so true, they really do know how to live. My favorite book on dog’s: A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron… enjoy those adorable little snugglers, your photos made me smile!
Thanks for the recommendation Kelly, I’ll put it on my reading list. So glad you gained a smile :)!
I’ve had my boy now for over 8 years from being an 8 week old puppy. Their love is always, always unconditional. Loved the pics and I hope you have many happy years with your puppies. 🙂
Thank you, wonderful you’ve enjoyed that companionship. I had two dogs that died within the past year so it’s wonderful to begin anew with these joyful girls :).
nice…that sounds like a really cool book…and it is amazing what a dog can do to someones mood…i often take the children i counsel to the shelter to walk the dogs…and in caring for the abused they often find their own break throughs with what is going on in their lives…
Yes, dogs help us live happier, healthier, and longer lives. Thanks Brian :).
I don’t love puppies anymore, I am sorry. The energy and slurp level, so finely captured in your poem, keeps me from the loving embrace that I think dogs need. I do, however, love that you and so many others are (dog-lovers) and would never abuse animals. My cat and I sit here and watch you all walk by outside with joy.
I’m having trouble with my spam filter but rescued this comment this morning. I love cats and am glad to hear you enjoy your animal companionship :).
Oh, the filter! I thought I had really offended you! It’s a great poem, showing all the passion and control I’ve come to look forward to in your poetry.
Unfortunately a post I put up a couple weeks ago is attracting hundreds of spam comments every day! I used to regularly check the filter and wade through 5 or 6 comments and it was easy to rescue those that weren’t spam. Now it’s a big job! Oh the joys of the internet. No worries on offending, you’d have to really try to hurt my feeling :). Sorry for the concern.
“Take time to chew the grass” sticks with me, also the “enthusiastic lickers.”
They are definitely enthusiastic lickers and time to chew the grass is like dog for smell the roses (right now they mostly bite the heads off dandelions :)).
The senryu of puppy love found here. Sometimes deep emotion is best expressed in minimal ways – just as they’re showing you. May they long be your faithful companions!
True that Gay, thank you for the well wishes :).
Dogs are our good angels, always there with unconditional love, simplicity and a purity of soul we as humans can never know–and of course, they are wonderful clowns, too. I’ve been lucky enough to live with them for the last twenty five years, and I can’t imagine life without them.
Oh Joy, they really are and I learn so much from them. I almost used clown but ended up with syllable trouble. Celeste is a real comedian, she runs into a room and lets out one bark and runs away. Sophie taught her how to pick up her leash so now they both run off with them and better yet try to walk one another. Such fun :).
if you cannot find something to write about with puppies around you are not a poet at all. They are great fun, we have three rescue dogs, watching them interact can be fascinating
So true! Nice to hear you also have rescue dogs (the two that died over the past year were also rescues).
Oh, Anna, they’re adorable. It’s amazing you were able to get puppies, around here the shelters mainly only have older dogs or abused dogs. Super cute, dogs are the best.
Aren’t they? Sophie thinks she’s a superstar because people squeal when they meet her and Celeste is a ham/snugglebug. There’s a rural puppy rescue that takes in puppies from many of the surrounding states that have only kill shelters. Also, black dogs are euthanized at a much higher rate because of people’s superstitions about them (humans are the only animals that make no sense to me :)).
yes hedgewitch is right. the natural ecology around us is what should keep humanity on track. we forget. and dogs even come more than halfway to show us love and belonging. our girls are rescue dogs too. sometimes polly raids the rubbish bin. sometimes shona digs out all the garden. all the time they are full of snuggles. embodied hope.
Yes and dogs played such a central role in the development of civilization. Of course you have rescue dogs too, you have such a generous heart. I love that, embodied hope!
The puppies are adorable! 🙂
Love the verses. We can learn much from these little zen masters just by watching.
Yes, they definitely don’t hold on to resentments or hide enthusiasm :).
aaawwww….just awwww…and wonderfully penned…very different from your usual style..so.. unexpected.. and now i wanna cuddle these dogs…smiles
Thanks Claudia, they would love a cuddle from you :)!
“trust, lean in to love”. my favorite line. i can feel a puppy or two, my kitten as she purrs, leaning into my hand as I read this. a lovely, precious, and vulnerable piece. thank you. ~jane
Yes, kittens do the trick too :).
It’s amazing how simple things can provide an insight into life! How the puppies react tell us how to respond in a positive way! Beautiful verse Anna!
Hank
Yes, it’s been 11+ years since I had a puppy and she didn’t get a brother until about a year and a half later (he was a dog) so I’ve forgotten some things and learn new ones by seeing them play together.
Didn’t expect this from you, I was sure you would weave something about biological ecosystems into this haiku series, but, from a pull-your-heartstrings point of view, it works!
Me either, I was initially going to do a persona poem from their perspective but didn’t have time to develop their distinct voices. Also, I’m a bit tired of being harassed about my vocabulary so I came up with this :). I only had six readers from OLN for my erasure poem last week that took several hours to find appropriate text for, write, paint, and photograph – this took five minutes. Sorry, now I’m just blowing off steam. I always appreciate your visits very much.
what a great topic – love it!
What I like most about these (in addition to generally liking all things haiku), is how your different haikus interrelate. Sure, they are abut your adorable puppies, but the last lines in particular, it sees to me, describe a learning path that applies to them as well as us. And kudos for using a single word to use up all five syllables of a line.
Yes, it was intended to give us humans some clues about life :). I have actually used a seven syllable word to fill the second line in another piece (I think it is fun). Though I have run into wanting to use words that have too many syllables to fit haiku! I can’t wait to read what you’ve been writing.
I like the hinted deeper meaning at the end. It’s hard not to have a soft spot for puppies, isn’t it.
Thanks Alex, that’s so true.
gorgeous Ann – they are so trusting and loveable – had my daughters new pups here last weekend – full of beans and curiosity then to collapse in deep cuddley sleeps – lovely write Ann – Lib
How fun :), mine have been acting up today but are finally down for a nap! I may need one too.
your little one doesn’t have a dummy – never seen anything lie this but these two have one each – 🙂 Lib
They are so adorable! Let me know what you think of the books you are reading. They sound very applicable to my personality. hope you are well.
Thanks Sheila :)! I LOVE The Gifts of Imperfection as it is based on her own research and not a how to self-help book. I read it in two sittings. I’ve already recommended it highly to my brother. Quiet is engaging and intelligently written (I’m only on Chapter 3). The Highly Sensitive Person isn’t as immediately appealing or well written but it’s based on her research and others to illustrate the neurological basis for HSP’s so you don’t have to keep feeling that you can ‘just get over’ overstimulation. I’m an INFP whose been in leadership and a good ‘pseudo’-extrovert. However, I am too often exhausted by these roles. Now I spend about 55 hours alone each week and still somewhat struggle with keeping up social media commitments and my volunteer work. I am usually the first person to leave a social gathering which has often garnered odd looks. I was just at a volunteer function last week where I spent 3.5 hours helping and had to get away. Many extroverts stayed 8 hours!
oh, yes…I can relate to each and every point you made. I know I am a HSP – overstimulation is a huge issue for me. I like to be alone often but not all of the time, and my limit for being out of the house is about 3 hours. Does this book focus on amygdala-prefrontal cortex connection research, physical verses narrative memory, etc.? I read alot about this topic a few months back and researchers are even finding that HSP have reduced fractional anisotropy of the uncinate fasciculus (the nerve fiber bundle that connects the temporal lobe where the amygdala resides to the prefrontal cortex.) Fascinating stuff!
I’m not sure as I’m not finished yet with the HSP book but it has come up in Quiet (I’m through another four chapters). I’ll let you know as I go but I agree there’s some amazing researching coming out, lots of fMRI images are leading to a new understanding of neurophysiology and better psychological viewpoints. Especially in refuting a disease based model that confuses introversion with anxiety, neuroticism, etc.
refreshing.. a chance to catch breath.. so worth remembering. I really enjoyed this Anna.. thank you.
Thanks Becky; I’m behind in my reading as being a puppy mama is a bit time consuming :). I’ll be by soon!