Feb 27, 2017 Free Verse, Original Poetry

Refusal
©February 27th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram

Tags: #Dog, #NoWeHaveNoBananas!, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram

Oct 9, 2015 Daily Life

Skunencounter

©October9th, 2015

By Vijaya Sundaram

The day before yesterday, I was inside my house, attending to some trivial task, when I heard The Hod (one of my names for Holly, our nearly two-year old Standard Poodle, barking fit to burst outside in our back yard.

Ordinarily, I’d just yell, “Stop barking, Holly!” and repeat it a few times.  Or (shame on me), I’d yell out, “TREAT!” and a hopeful, wagging, grinning dog would come trotting back to the kitchen door.  The good thing at such times is that, though I use the term as a bribe, I follow it up with action, and actually give her a treat or two (I try not to lie to my dog — the only times I was guilty of doing so were the few times when I felt perverse, and yelled, “SQUIRREL,” which made her dash out into the backyard to lay waste to all squirrels, everywhere — but, of course, it’s all talk and no action on her part).

This time, however, her barking had a frantic, excited edge to it.

Realization and panic flooded me.  I remembered that the previous day, I’d seen a small (adolescent?) skunk lumping across our yard in a sort of busy, distracted fashion, looking at this and that, before proceeding on its mysterious way.  I’d happened to look at the clock, because I was surprised to see it out in the daytime.  And the clock read 5:25 p.m.  In my insatiable need -to-know manner, I’d looked up skunk behavior, wondering whether it might be rabid, and found out reassuring things (I won’t bore you with the details — you can read it here:  http://www.wildskunkrescue.com/skunkbehaviors.htm)  I’d made a mental note to keep an eye on the backyard, because that was Holly’s domain and Queendom.

So, this time, almost instinctively, I looked at the clock again before I raced to the kitchen door — yup.  5:20 or so!  (For someone who hates Time, I manage to do a good job of keeping track of it).

All this happened in split seconds, you understand.  I looked out the door, and there, on the planters on the retaining wall of the backyard, stood Holly, barking excitedly and dancing aggressively in front of a small, frightened, brave, snarling little skunk, who (the Gods be thanked) was still facing Holly — but whose tail was lifting dangerously.  In seconds, it would turn and take aim.

I SCREAMED at Holly in a voice I didn’t know I possessed.  Holly, Holly, HOLLY, COME BACK!

And, thank the stars!  Holly looked at me, fought her impulse to kill the creature, and came back to me.  I grabbed her by the collar, and took her into the kitchen, and slammed the door shut just in time!  The skunk sprayed the back wall of the back yard, and left, probably freaked out of its little mind.

I have to hand it to the skunk.  It was so small compared to my big poodle, and it was so brave.  I felt sorry for it, and was oddly proud of it.  I even wondered briefly whether it was orphaned, and whether I could adopt it.

But I have NO wish to have a skunkified dog stinking up my house.

I am now VERY vigilant when five o’clock comes rolling around.

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Tags: #Dog, Backyard encounter, Courage, Skunk

Feb 16, 2015 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

What I wrote yesterday:

Snowed In.  Contented

By Vijaya Sundaram

The wind howls down the street, blowing drifts of snow back on the steps, no doubt, and the dog barks in response. She suspects the wind as being an entity that’s up to no good. She’s a mysterious dog, and has deep thoughts of her own, none of which she’ll share with us, although her almond eyes gaze unwinkingly at me when I stare into them. Then, she looks away, somewhat embarrassed at such intimacy, no doubt. Her love, however, is absolute.
My daughter is making a “family tree” of various important cats in the Warriors series. She is into family trees, it appears. I love what it implies about her need to know the history of things, and also her need to create sequences. She’s always been a list-maker, and a lover of lists since she was very little.
The smell of Biryani masala wafts up the stairs – rice and mixed veggies and tofu are on the stove.
I love my husband.
He’s lovely.

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Tags: #Contentment, #Dog, #Family, snowed in

Jul 6, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries, Music, Parenting/ Home-schooling / Family Music and other Notes

Walked with Hol in the morning. She was sedate and heeled well — a nice change from the crazy persona she projected yesterday.
Read aloud two beautifully illustrated and entrancingly written graphic novels (one based on Athena and the other on Poseidon) to S after lunch. She was instantly captivated, and re-read them by herself again and again. She’s been deep into Greek Mythology since I bought her a few wonderfully engaging books on it a couple of years ago. She remembers things I don’t. It’s amazing. Her favorite goddess are Athena, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia and Metis. And I think she fell in love with the Theseus shown in the Poseidon book. She rather likes, and feels sorry for, Poseidon’s Cyclops son, Polyphemus. She LOVED the three Fates show in the Athena book. Good taste!
Lots of planting in the evening. Very nice. Found a bunny in the garden, which appeared suddenly out of tall grasses, and sprang away into the hostas on the side. S helped with weeding.
Hol’s busy chewing on a water bottle. Got to rescue it.
Went up for a bit and listened to S practising guitar, improvising on a D minor scale, while Warren played the chords. Lovely! Holly listened to her, and then to us, when we sang a Beatles song together. She likes music, just as we all do.

Tags: #Dog, #Gardening, #Journal Entry, Family time with daughter, husband, Lazy Sunday

May 11, 2014 Parenting/ Home-schooling / Family Music and other Notes

Repletion Mode — An Other’s Day Poem

©May 11th, 2014

By Vijaya Sundaram

Mother Day yawns

I lie in bed.

Birds unfold the day.

I lie in bed.

Sounds of household peeling.

I lie in bed.

Sunshine splintering.

I lie in bed.

Cup of coffee in husband’s hand.

Bounce of daughter and dog on bed.

I arise, a sea creature,

From torpid dreams.

Tiredness rears over me

I drown in enervation.

Yet, slowly, slowly,

Depletion mode gives way,

Slowly getting replete again,

Slowly, slowly now.

Oh, so slowly.

I sit up and hug my child.

It’s Other’s Day.

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Tags: #Daughter, #Dog, #Original Poetry, completion, husband, Mother's Day

Apr 26, 2014 Uncategorized

Spring and Rain, and Flowers and Dog

©April 26th, 2014

 By Vijaya Sundaram

Rain erases with gentle

Pearly, indifferent mercy

All that ever was that died.

And with one wash, she

Brings forth life anew.

Daffodils nod along the paths,

Pink hyacinths and purple ones

Glow amidst a young green

Pushing from a pulsing earth.

Narcissus and Puschkinia

Bright, cheerful pansies,

Close to the earth, but undeterred

All beautiful, all simple —

No terrors, no hopes, no fears,

No egos, no sorrows, no losses,

No working for a living,

No guilt about idleness,

No chasing after dreams,

No saying “no” to things.

All saying “yes” to Life

— Even when it comes along

In canine form, sniffs, springs,

Laughs soundlessly, and

SNAP!  A pansy is gone!

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Tags: #Dog, #NaPoWriMo, #Original Poetry, #Rain, #Spring, Flowers, pansy eating dog

Mar 21, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

A strange fit of yawning is afflicting me.
Can’t stop.
Even the word, “Yawn,” sets me off.
(The same thing with the word, “cold.”
I always, ALWAYS get cold when I hear or write the word.
Annoyingly, the opposite does not work.  When I write, “hot,” or hear it, I don’t get all heated up.  )
… This yawning has GOT to stop.
My face cannot stand it.  Feels as if it’s trying to push itself out of itself.
Yes, I know, I’ve got to go to sleep.  Wait!  Sleep?
Seriously?  At 9:40 p.m.?  That’s, like, early evening for me!
Meanwhile, the pup is passing the most horrid SBDs right now!  Silly thing!  (Must be all that good, natural pup food!)
My nose cannot stand it.
She lies like a dark, furry little rug on the floor, muscles completely relaxed, one foot, sorry, paw over the other, and tail stretched out.  Her pretty snout is long and sweet.
Her dark eyes open, check that I’m still there, then close.
She is a lovely, little (not so little at almost fifteen weeks) fuzz-bunny.
Everything always goes back to the great canine deity.
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Tags: #Dog, canine, deity, early bedtime, yawnng

Feb 28, 2014 Original Poetry

Devil Dog, Angel Pup

A Poem Celebrating Dogginess

By Vijaya Sundaram

February 28, 2014

Rolling black eyes, teeth snapping with a click,

Devil Dog entices with a pink-tongued lick.

Angel Pup, mop-top, furry-snug thing

You lure me when you start to sing.

It’s all music when you whistle high and sweet

I respond to your signal, and the clicking of your feet.

When you’re comfortably fed, your snout, warm and black,

So wet in my hand, says there’s nothing that I lack.

You sigh that sigh of dog-in-its-place

The Universe shifts in a deep, dark space.

You snuggle, little ragamuffin warm and bright,

Claiming me as your own birthright.

Your trust in us, so simple and true

A human and her dog, that’s me and you.

And your sigh, which says that all is well

Fills this room with a flop-eared spell.

Time stands still, then begins once more,

The evening coalesces near the door.

And sudden, the humming fridge ceases to hum

And sudden, another sound starts to thrum.

A truck rumbles by, the highways sing

While soft falls the snow, and the quiet it brings.

The Great Outside where the unknown resides

Is blotted out now – and shunted aside.

But here, now, within, see – dog on my knee

This is peace, true peace, and it rests with me.

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Tags: #Dog, contentment is death, Holly the Standard Poodle Pup, Puppy, Puppy love