The Night Jeremy had to Shoot the Dog
- Having recently lost my own pup my heart broke for the characters within this poem. The various levels of emotion range from the young child to the older brother and to the father. Each experiencing the "situation" in his own. The innocence of the child, as an unexpected member of the hesitant "death squad" broke my heart as he was alone in his grief. The father and older child, although reluctant, were able to follow through and take the furry life, leaning on each other for strength. Yet it was the strength of the young child that I found to be touching.
Repetition of Patterns
-A short enjoyable poem of the season.
Free
-I'd rather not get into the reasons why I LOVED this poem. I only want to touch on the depth of which Chatfield's words connected with me.
After being introduced to Hale Chatfield's poetry I'm happy to report that I'm no longer scared of new poets and I look forward to meeting many more.
Tracy, I am so glad. I love "Free" too--I have always loved both the message and the image of the bread growing moldy "like a little rainforest." And I teach the poem about having to kill the dog--it's such an interesting--and moving!-- example of voice and narrative poetry. I am so glad that you enjoyed him!
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