amy lowell on a dog's love, 1914

Outside the long window,
With his head on the stone sill,
The dog is lying,
Gazing at his Beloved.
His eyes are wet and urgent,
And his body is taut and shaking.
It is cold on the terrace;
A pale wind licks along the stone slabs,
But the dog gazes through the glass
And is content.

The Beloved is writing a letter.
Occasionally she speaks to the dog,
But she is thinking of her writing.
Does she, too, give her devotion to one
Not worthy ?

-- "Fool's Money Bags," from Sword Blades and Poppy Seed (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1914). And if you thought that was sad, mercy, don't read the poem about the dancing bear.