Dog Burial

Dog Burial audio

Dog Burial is one of my earliest surviving poems. Originally written sometime between 1976 and 1977, it was edited and pared down somewhat over the years before being published in the 04 May 2012 edition of The Clare Champion newspaper. It is taken from my first poetry collection, The Parting (Amethyst Dragon, 2013) with the pencil sketch accompanying the poem drawn by Orla Walsh.
The dog in question was a greyhound named Millie and my mother’s favourite. After a successful career on the track, she was kept for breeding, but when she turned out to be sterile my father, ever the businessman, had her put down. It was my task, as gravedigger, to bury her in our orchard.
This recording was made on 04 June 2020.