Dog Songs : Thirty-five Dog Songs and One Essay / Mary Oliver

How it begins -- How it is with us, and how it is with them -- If you are holding this book -- Every dog's story -- The Storm (Bear) -- Conversations - -Luke's junkyard song -- Luke -- Her grave -- Benjamin, who came from who knows where -- The dog has run off again -- Holding on to Benjamin -- The poetry teacher -- Bazougey -- Ropes -- Percy -- School -- Little Dog's rhapsody in the night -- Time passes -- Untitled -- Percy wakes me -- The sweetness of dogs -- Percy speaks while I am doing taxes -- Percy, waiting for Ricky -- Percy (2002-2009) -- For I will consider my dog Percy -- The first time Percy came back -- Ricky talks about talking -- The wicked smile -- The traveler -- Show time -- A bad day -- Henry -- How a lot of us become friends -- You never know where a conversation is going to go -- Dog talk.

"Beloved by her readers, special to the poet's own heart, Mary Oliver's dog poems offer a special window into her world. Dog Songs collects some of the most cherished poems together with new works, offering a portrait of Oliver's relationship to the companions that have accompanied her daily walks, warmed her home, and inspired her work. To be illustrated with images of the dogs themselves, the subjects will come to colorful life here. These are poems of love and laughter, heartbreak and grief. In these pages we visit with old friends, including Oliver's well-loved Percy, and meet still others. Throughout, the many dogs of Oliver's life emerge as fellow travelers, but also as guides, spirits capable of opening our eyes to the lessons of the moment and the joys of nature and connection. Dog Songs is a testament to the power and depth of the human-animal exchange, from an observer of extraordinary vision"-- Provided by publisher.