Classic Poem

C ATULLUS of a sparrow sung:
But Issa's neater.
A kiss is sweet from ringdove's tongue:
But Issa's sweeter.
She's nicer than the nicest girl,
She's dearer than the dearest pearl;
No pet can beat her.

Whene'er she whines, you'd think that she
Was talking sadly.
Sometimes she cries, sometimes in glee
She barks out gladly.
And when she needs herself to ease,
She lifts her paw and says — " Sir, please,
I want to badly."

If she is sleeping on your bed
You do not hear her;
Nor will she soil the blanket spread,
You need not fear her.
So modest is she, we can't find
A suitor of the canine kind
To let come near her.

Lest death should take her from our eyes,
A picture giving
Her very self in shape and size
Portrays her striving.
Put dog and picture both together:
You'll wonder which is paint, or whether
They both are living.