My Dog is Running Faster

My dog is running faster
than he's ever run before
in a supersonic circle
in the middle of the floor.

He started somewhat slowly
but he quickly gathered steam,
and continued gaining speed
until his spinning was extreme.

He's turned into a whirlwind,
like a funnel cloud of fog,
so it's hard to even focus on
my whirling dervish dog.

He's like a small tornado
or a canine hurricane.
Why it doesn't make him dizzy
I'm unable to explain.

I only know he has this
most unusual of traits,
and he loves to chase his tail around
while wearing roller skates.

--Kenn Nesbitt



      I like this poem a lot. I have a dog and I love to wrestle and play her. I spend a huge portion of my day either walking or playing with her, so I can relate to Kenn. In the first stanza Kenn states, "running faster than he's ever run before in a supersonic circle" I like this metaphor for two reasons. First, it creates such mental picture in my mind of the dog spinning in a blur. Second,  the phrase sounds very comic bookish, like the author is describing the Flash. While a think that the Flash is one of the lamer members of the JLA, I still like how the wording makes me think of comics.
     In the third stanza Kenn says, " so it's hard to even focus on my whirling dervish dog." I like how the author snuck an exotic metaphor into such a simple poem. While, I have not heard the phrase "whirling dervish" before I have never know exactly what a whirling dervish was. So, since I did this on the computer, I thought," why not do a Google search for it." To my surprise a whirling dervish is part of some Eastern European dance. The targeted audience of this poem would probably not know this so I find it kind of ironic because how often do English teachers tell their students to write for their intended audience. Although, for all I know Kenn Nesbitt could just  be some weird guy that put a poem on a website and not a respected author like Joseph Conrad.
     I also like how Kenn adds a comedic ending to the poem. The beginning of the poem pulls you in and the end makes you laugh which is a nice balance. The beginning and the end or the most important parts of most things, because nobody ever remembers what happened in the middle.
     The comic bookish and exotic metaphors along with comedic factor of this poem makes it very enjoyable.