dog star
by Christine Knight
shakesharpshockrattlejumpshockshake as the labradog star ramshackles down the bank radiant blond gold radiating stars summer warmth august warmth dogday warmth snuffing along grass mud roots rocks moss stones mud roots silt swirl under the water roots claw under the water dog! dog! snuffing along sleek blond snuffling along dog in its prime dog of them all dog of the dog days dog of the blueskysun dog of the river dog of need dogs who appear in extremis times of deep need dog days dogs of the river dogs of the lees rescue dogs pickup dogs sleek dogs shaggy dogs scarred stitched stapled dogs big dogs little dogs yapping dogs bowwowing dogs dogs who think they’re big dogs dogs from under the world the underworld the river world the brewdark derwent world dogs who swimshakeshuddershake spray! spray! dogs who shimmyshimmyshake dogs who sashay dogs who jumpsnufflesnort dogs who jump over the moon and into the stars over the moor the edge the pines over leam pool dogs over the dog star dog statue golden dog living dog prime dog top dog dog of the dogday afternoon radiant sleek alive!! alive!!! sleek! alive! dogs of the river and dogs of the wood and dogs of the sky and meadow dogs of the waves
Dr Christine Knight is an Australian writer based in the Derbyshire Peak District, UK. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Distinction) from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her poetry has been published in Magma, The North, Tears in the Fence, and elsewhere. Outside poetry, she works freelance in research consultancy and editing, following an academic career at the University of Edinburgh: christineknight.co.uk.