Six Animal Poems by Maithreyi Karnoor

1.Life Imitates Art Class

The pigeon net in the balcony of the high-rise 
cuts up the view in neat little squares
as if arranging the urban landscape 
for a scale drawing of modern life. 
Life and art chase each other like a dog its tail.  
And sometimes, they catch. 


 2.A Garnishing of Cats 
An old sofa thrown out 
of house and home 
like an inanimate black sheep 
is ripped for your pleasure 
by a garnishing of cats
in varying states of yawn or stretch.
Wispy rainless clouds showing 
through the jagged cityscape
as a passing thought 
summarise the world
as a problem that makes one 
care too much. 


 3.A Dog Who Looks Like a Person Who Looks Like a Dog

A dog who looks like a person 
who looks like a dog
must only try half as hard as a dog
who looks like a person 
who doesn’t look like a dog.

Synchronising for loyalty is a lopsided test.
It is unjust and unequal.

A dog must fight to overthrow 
the oppressive system
of the hegemony of lookalike affiliations.

A dog must walk 
– no, not now! It’s rhetorical. Sit! – 
with his head held high 
and not bend down to sniff 
every scent of domination.

A dog must turn three times
– no, make it four for good measure – 
to flatten the earth of human expectation
before he sits – no, not now. Get up!

Ok, go get the ball, I’ll get the leash. 
Don’t jump! Stay. Good boy. 

   
 4.Flight and Less Bird

The dog killed the turkey
not for hunger or for sport,
but because it failed to fear him.
When admonished for this uncalled-for murder,
he laid down the feathered carcass 
as offering of appeasement 
to the vegetarian farmer 
and went off to sun himself among the alphonsos.  
The man promptly buried the bird
and resolved to keep only chickens
to rid his cows of ticks.
They would squawk and scatter
and flee from the dog dutifully.


 5.Sealed 

Dear diary, I saw a seal today in the northern brine 
of subjective directions which will be too cold 
for me in every season. 
At first, I thought it was a drowning 
dog and was surprised by the lack 
of alarm on the beach – intrigued even
by the delighted smiles.
The revelation came as a clapping child. 
Ong ong ong as he imitated Sea World barks
I felt a homograph of the animal bobbing on the waves 
observing the observers with uncertain 
humour; mine matched my embarrassment, 
which I held closed with false familiarity 
– sealed it in, if you’d pardon the obvious – 
only to tell it to an unused page like a private joke. 
Dear seal, I saw a diary today. 
 

 6.A Short Story 

A gull came to a foot of where I sat on a picnic bench 
that had been moved overnight from its original spot 
under the oak tree to a more sunny part of the field. 
I was warmer here but grimaced nonetheless 
to show my displeasure at the change. 
The gull wasn’t disappointed that I had no food.
It sat down like a roosting hen and I told it a story
of my country where there were no gulls.