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Review #4573437
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There was a Dog  [E]
A dog is red and turns yellow
by Lynda Miller
Review of There was a Dog  
In affiliation with Space Blog Group  
Rated: E | (4.5)
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A review about "There was a Dog"  and about life lessons that could be learned from this...

I could almost see a moral to this story forming as I saw a reversal of color for the red dog. If a person were to look deeper and assign meaning/metaphor to this dog, his actions, color change, reaction from other dogs, reversal of color and the irony, maybe something more would be revealed to me.

The poem is simply and somewhat awkwardly laid out, with a storytelling style that might speak to younger people. Though, I feel it could be filled with something more that adults could relate to on another, deeper level. There was opportunity with this that will now be lost to the creator's passing.

What I feel is that we might identify with a red dog. It's bold and it's strong and it is an animal that has friends who are waiting to greet him. But, what happens along the way. He falls into a green bog and his red coat appears yellow when the two colors combine to form a new...which is not possible...but for purpose of story, which is most important...we have this. The friends see him and run. Are they scared of his yellow apparition when they see him, as they howl? It's not clear. The red dog insists he is not yellow. He is firm in self and belief of who he is. The other dogs essentially reject him. The irony comes when he runs back and falls in the pond again and the green washes off somehow and he is red again...and that is for purpose of story once more. But, what does it serve? There is nothing or no one other to see that he has not changed. He doesn't even seem to be aware of it. But...

Aha! The reader sees and understands what has happened. The purpose of the story would be...yeah, still unsolvable. But, this poem has something raw and undeveloped to it that was headed somewhere. I could sit here and do all the calculations in my head about purpose of story but I can't bounce off you now, can I? There are takeaways that are obvious. The most pertinent would be how people see us. And they don't see our True Colors. If I could relate and equate.

A person who is self-assured as a writer and shares his vision with the a writing community makes friends and they share associations and experiences with the craft. But, there perception of him is altered by a misunderstanding, by their ignorance and he is left alone because they won't play with a yellow dog. It could be about the shallow and alterable beliefs of these other writers/dogs who never truly saw him for what he is/was. Why is that? Why are they so afraid of him? He doesn't take a moment to chase after them or wonder why, just returns home. He's always the same color, underneath. Jumping in that bog made him different. Perhaps, the writer jumped in some sort of bog, and what does that imply?

Again, more math to calculate and equate the similarities to make sense. This is what comparatives are hard to use, unless they are simple and straightforward and perhaps why this perplexes as reviewer considering it now. It's unjust in any scenario and does show the weakness of others who don't stand with a friend, even while they are yellow. It informs that they were never friends to begin with. in fact, the are in league with one another rather than accepting him with a little pond scum altering his color. In fact, the act of jumping in the bog was an error and not an attempt to change who he is.

It reminds me that there is always an explanation for another's behavior if we approach and ask or let time give us an opening or an opportunity to see a fuller picture. A woman I worked with once was going too fast and forcing me to speed up and take shortcuts on the job I could get in trouble for. I felt a little put off by getting the bum's rush in my work area so she could finish and move on. Then, I learned later that day she was distracted with a family emergency, that she wanted to be with a family member, though she couldn't because of Covid and was waiting to see if she would have a chance to talk with them one more time. Work was keeping her mind off things. She couldn't stay home and wait for a call. So, I understood and it was because I wasn't standing in judgment of her. I was standing alongside her and allowing her to express grief and get through the morning however she needed. And once I understood, no longer in quandary. And I've learned, it's not necessary to stand in judgment of others. Give them space. In fact, support them more.

So, that's where I take all of this from a simple poem about the color altering coat of a dog who doesn't get to play with his other dog friends.

Brian
Red Among The Walking Dead

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