The New Dog
By Linda Pastan
Linda Olenick Pastan (B. 1932)
Into the gravity of my life,
the serious ceremonies
of polish and paper and pen, has come
this manic animal
whose innocent disruptions
make nonsense of my old simplicities —
as if I needed him
to prove again that after
all the careful planning,
anything can happen.
———
Daybreak
By John Donne
John Donne (1572-1631)
STAY, O sweet and do not rise!
The light that shines comes from thine eyes;
The day breaks not: it is my heart
Because that you and I must part.
Stay! or else my joys will die
And perish in their infancy.
———
Dust If You Must
By Rose Milligan
Attributed to Mrs. Rose Milligan, Lancaster, England
Dust if you must, but wouldn’t it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?
Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.
Dust if you must, but the world’s out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.
Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it’s not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.
———
Down By the Salley Gardens
By William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
Down by the salley* gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
* Obsolete term for willow.
———
News Item
By Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses.
Mr. Write's Page 
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