The old dog barks backwards without getting up.
I can remember when he was a pup.

-- Robert Frost, The Span of Life

In this poem Frost plays with the sounds of words and meaning.  The description of the old dog is appropriately slow and harsh whereas the pup's description scampers along.  Also, Frost seems to be describing more than just dogs.

Once when I told a class that to write such a well-crafted couplet would be a major accomplishment in a person's life, several students wondered if there would be much money in it.  When I said "probably not," they seemed to lose interest.

© 2001 to 2009  Franklin L. Jensen
All Rights Reserved.
All Original Works Property of Franklin L. Jensen