it gets run over by a van.
you find it at the side of the road
and bury it.
you feel bad about it.
you feel bad personally,
but you feel bad for your daughter
because it was her pet,
and she loved it so.
she used to croon to it
and let it sleep in her bed.
you write a poem about it.
you call it a poem for your daughter,
about the dog getting run over by a van
and how you looked after it,
took it out into the woods
and buried it deep, deep,
and that poem turns out so good
you’re almost glad the little dog
was run over, or else you’d never
have written that good poem.
then you sit down to write
a poem about writing a poem
about the death of that dog,
but while you’re writing you
hear a woman scream
your name, your first name,
both syllables,
and your heart stops.
after a minute, you continue writing.
she screams again.
you wonder how long this can go on.
Your Dog Dies
Analysis, meaning and summary of Raymond Carver's poem Your Dog Dies
33 Comments
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So much for comfort when you need it!
Raymond is, in my opinion, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. He captures his audience, tells his story in a raw manner, yet each poem he wrote has it’s own soul. Your dog dies is no exception. To bad most of the poster of comments so far just don’t get it! I’d suggest they grab one or two of his books and spend a little time learning his style and getting to know him.
is now good poetry without sorrow.That’s the poet’s curse.
You have to step back…this poem is not about us. There is no lesson here. Its about the madness of a poet. A dog dies, and the narrator does the “normal” thing. Feels sad, buries it, etc…But he is a poet and writes about it. And then he feels bad b/c he realizes that he is almost glad it happened, b/c it gives him something to write about and so and so on into this mental whirlpool of abstraction from reality until all that really matters are the words on the page. He hears his wife (maybe his daughter) scream his name, “Ray-mond” to reach him. But he is lost — the mad writer.
I agree with Melissa Allen. I mean who would want to write about death in general, much less your daughters dog?
Raymond Carter has mental problems.
this was the most stupid poem i have ever read!! why would you be happy about the dog getting run over?!?!?
And who ever wrote this poem is a syco.
wow that’s amazing! At first a bit funny but finally….you know what I mean
wow that is amazing!! i thought it was weird at first because who would want to write about a dead dog???
OMG! That was the funniest thing I’ve ever read!!!!! Who doesn’t like doggie-suicide? I mean, how original is that? I want my dog to run in front of a mac truck so I can write about it!!! Woo!
You are all amazingly dense…
I had a dog like that named Tiger. The guy saw him and went faster to hit him. It made me so so mad. My brothers and I still love him as much as we did when he was alive. I miss you and Love you a lot TIGER!
i dont understand this peom too good… why would he write one peom on top of another?? and also who and why is there screamin? did the daughter get killed or something?.. to damn confusing for my little brain
I do not feel this poem is referring to a dog at all. The dog is simply a metaphor for Carver’s failing marriage. Read it again-the clues are seen everywhere (especially in the part about his daughter).
Who was screaming?
I feel for the girl who’s dog died, if it’s true. Raymond Carver is DEAD (read the first page of the site) so no, I don’t think he cares to capitalize his letters anymore. This poem is about the undercurrent of his life story, a struggling writer, he finds it morbid that it takes strong negative feelings to make his mind work, and the screaming woman is no doubt someone in his life who is pissed that he is writing a poem instead of consoling his daughter, and when he asks “how long can this go on?” he is wondering how long he can continue living in this closed-down non-emotional state where he is emotionally cut off from friends and family, where no one understands, and in doing so rains anger and disbelief on him.
hm… somewhat morbid. is this an ode? why would he write a poem on a poem for his daughter about his dead dog? why doesnt he just post the poem for his daughter? and does he have a shift button with which to capitolize words?
this is just like what happen to my poor dog his name was rocky we loved him with all of our heart, me and my brother we still got love for him in our hearts.
i know everyone gets many different meanings from poems butthe other two comments here have nothing to do with this poem. it has a depper meaning then a dead dog, the death of the dog inspires himt o write about it then that inspires him to write of the good poem he wrote yet there are still inturuptions to him and his writing.
my dog died on october 27,2004 i dont know what to do what do i do and how can i stop crying?
I thought ur poem was great a dog getting run over by a van. Cool shit man.