R O B E R T  L U N D A Y

Tomb of the Knight, on Which

He Is Depicted with His Dog

from Mad Flights

for Vassar Miller, 1924-1998

Dog that curls at his master's feet,

stone dog, stone feet:

dog that curls there in stone,

               do you warm at all

to eyes that trace your finial designs,

               seeking rest without decline?

I would decay no more

               than I have already,

stone dog, at this stone-man's feet:

               if decaying

were less the compromise than dying.

        Nor would I die --

would rather find myself turned stone,

               to live that slow life;

but would not die.

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