dog talk

british library flickr. PD

(That's the translation from Latin of the following poem's title.)

CANICULI LOQUUNTUR
The younger brethern of your House,
We guard the door;
And serve our elder godlike kin
With hard-won lore.

Your human speech we cannot frame—
You call us dumb—
Yet eloquent the eye and ear
That know you come.

For love can bridge the gulf that yawns
’Twixt us to-day,
And bid us share each other’s joy
Each in his way.

-- By E. D. Farrar. Found in Parson, J. The Friendly Dog: an Anthology, London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1912. 70.