Dog Songs by Mary Oliver

Title: Dog Songs 
Author: Mary Oliver 
Type: Poetry 
Genre: Poetry 
Series: No 
Pages: 127 
Copyright: 2013 
Publisher: The Penguin Press 
Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
A collection of new and favorite poems, celebrating the dogs that have enriched the poet’s world

Beloved by her readers, special to the poet’s own heart, Mary Oliver’s dog poems offer a special window into her world. Dog Songs collects some of the most cherished poems together with new works, offering a portrait of Oliver’s relationship to the companions that have accompanied her daily walks, warmed her home, and inspired her work. To be illustrated with images of the dogs themselves, the subjects will come to colorful life here.

These are poems of love and laughter, heartbreak and grief. In these pages we visit with old friends, including Oliver’s well-loved Percy, and meet still others. Throughout, the many dogs of Oliver’s life emerge as fellow travelers, but also as guides, spirits capable of opening our eyes to the lessons of the moment and the joys of nature and connection.

Dog Songs is a testament to the power and depth of the human-animal exchange, from an observer of extraordinary vision.

Feelings:
This book has a different feeling from past poetry that I have read by Mary Oliver. The poems are all about her dogs and I felt like they were simpler than some of her other writing. I still really enjoyed the poetry and am glad I read it. The simplicity of the poems adds to the human dog connection that these poems demonstrate.

One of my favorite poems in the collection was The Sweetness of Dogs. It is very simple but it shows how dogs lean on our hearts.

Percy, meanwhile,
leans against me and gaszes up into
my face. As though I were just as wonderful
as the perfect moon. (p. 61)

There are thirty-five poems and one essay included in here and I thought it was a nice tribute to dogs and their people. I could argue that one of the poems felt more like an essay to me but that really doesn't matter. This is a collection of poetry for those that love dogs. Dog Songs sings to the dogs in our lives and those before, reminding us how much they give us in the simple act of love.