Loyalty Before Royalty

Poems

By Gabriella Dolan
 Author’s Statement
In my poetry book, I’ve included the poems; “13 Ways My Dog Shows Love”, “The Key to Loyalty”, and “When the spirits awaken”.
I have enjoyed writing every single one, but my favorite one is “The Key to Loyalty”. It relates to a lot of things going on in my life right now,
and I believe most people have experienced something like this before. It was probably the most enjoyable to write since it came from a
personal area. Although, I also did have fun writing the halloween poem, “When the Spirits Awaken”. I’ve been fascinated in witchcraft for a
while, so I knew I was going to write about it as soon as I read the Halloween poem assignment.
In the poem “13 Ways My Dog shows love'', I used the Haiku format which has a solid meter. I was unsure if I was able to form a
poem that makes sense in this format because it’s so short, and straight to the point. Although, I’m happy with the results because it displays
the relationship I have with my dog. I did not have to focus on rhyming in this poem, so it was not too difficult to create. I believe I got my
point across about how my dog shows his love towards me.
With the other two poems, I made sure to incorporate rhyme as perfectly as I could. I did use a couple metaphors throughout my poems,
but it was difficult to include a lot while also trying to perfect meter and rhyme. In “When the Spirits Awaken”, I did not originally incorporate
meter. When I revised, I attempted to make a meter that is not commonly used. The pattern is; ABBA, BAAB, AABB, and BBAA, so
hopefully that is an acceptable meter. It was pretty difficult trying to make any type of pattern because the lines were all over the place in
length.
Gabriella Dolan
Professor Wright
ENG-226
11/12/2020
13 Ways my Dog Shows Love
I VI
Excitement surfaced-
When I arrived at the door.
Big eyed, his tail wagged.
II
Eyes of wonder shown,
And I faced him at the door.
He pounced toward my feet.
III
The sniffing began
As his ears were held up high.
Puzzled by my scent.
IV
Is my boy jealous?
He must smell that other dog.
Curiosity.
V X
I took of my coat
And he followed me upstairs.
A typical day.
He waits at the door,
Everytime I leave the house.
He yearns for my love.
VII
I pet his soft fur
And he looks at me in awe.
The best companion.
VIII
When I walk away
My shadow follows behind.
His presence lingers.
IX
I began to cry
And he knows something was wrong.
His face said it all.
He keeps nudging me
Because he knows I will smile.
He cares about me.
XI
He’s familiar-
With the human emotions.
A trusty ally.
XII
My pup meets my gaze
And refused to leave my side.
He stares with concern.
XIII
When I lay in bed,
He finds a spot by my feet.
Goodnight my sweet boy.
“The Key to Loyalty”

If I lost everything, would you be there?

If I had no money, would you still care?

If tomorrow I had nothing to offer,

Should I expect support, without a dollar?

My caring mentality is quite rare,

But I would hope with loss, you’d still be there.

Unfortunately, it can’t be that simple.

People abandon those who lost their nickles.

If I were to test our friendship right now,

I sense your loyalty will let me down.

When the Spirits Awaken

Halloween is a day known for fright (9) I’ve been in contact with these before, (9)

But I had no fear like this night. (8) But throughout the air, I could sense more. (9)

All alone on this haunting day (8) Doors slammed and objects came crashing. (8)

I practiced witchcraft to let ghosts play. (9) Trust me, I thought about dashing. (8)

I summoned spirits at midnight (8) I felt my heart drop from my chest (8)

With burning candles under moonlight. (9) But aware that this was a test. (8)

Energy roamed throughout the whole room. (9) Whispers and threats I can overhear (9)

I felt the essence of pure doom. (8) Hopefully soon, they will leave my ear. (9)