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The Sunday Poem: Greta Pullen... Two Poems About Eva Luna

"Eva was my Australian Shepherd, who had a big vocabulary in English and Spanish and invented jobs for herself in the absence of sheep."

A poet and novelist, Greta Pullen moved here from the San Francisco Bay area. She is senior librarian at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Ms. Pullen has given several local readings, including being one of the poets featured in the Maisha Baton tribute one week ago.

Eva Luna’s Dog Bed

Rarely is she found lying on top
Her protective stance towards her bed
Requires that she sleep beside it
Stubbornly she designates the bed
A catch-all spot for toys
Hedgehog with rough almost fur
Blue fleeced lambie
Rawhide bones have lost
Their compulsive allure
Now she’s elderly
Her busyness revolves around
Tennis balls
And potentially animate
Stuffed toys
While the denim covered
Bed for destructive dogs

Has become purely property

Comfort Me

Comfort me
Even though you cannot
Eva girl
Ten years my protector
Under your canine gaze I was
Well scrutinized
It used to be I couldn’t dare
To cry without inviting precise kisses
As you sought out the tears
You, yourself, could
Assume a somber expression
Amber eyes resigned to my leaving
Yet trusted you wouldn’t lose me
I’d be returned to you
Comfort me
Although you cannot
My Ev
As I have you
As you have me
As we understood
From the afternoon of your death
Heedless of coming and goings
Wild spirit I now follow you

--Greta Pullen

Poetry submissions are welcome. Email theditchrider@gmail.com. The whole Sunday Poem series is available from the front page of the DCF by clicking on The DitchRider in the left-hand sidebar. Poems early in the series are archived under "Previous Post" at the bottom of The DitchRider blog.

Tags: poetry, pullen

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Comment by Barelas Babe on February 28, 2010 at 8:24am: A powerful duo of poems. The raw emotions you've captured so well in "Comfort Me" gave me a lump in my throat and took me back to a similar goodbye.

Comment by Margaret Randall on February 28, 2010 at 8:33am: Greta, good to see you here. And to see the photo from last Sunday. I like both of these poems a lot, especially the second.

Comment by Ben Moffett on February 28, 2010 at 9:07am: Poignant indeed. But poetry? I actually understood it on first reading. Can't be poetry, can it?. Love it anyway. Thanks, Greta. How about honoring us with one en La Lengua?

Comment by Stephanie James on February 28, 2010 at 10:06am: Barelas Babe said: "gave me a lump in my throat and took me back to a similar goodbye."

Me too. I lost mine only a few short months ago. I still cry.