stanlet, Act III, Scene I

To pee, or not to pee, that is the question:
Whether it is nobler in the hound to suffer
The tugs and drags of outraged humans,
Or to lift a leg against a range of objects
And by sprinkling, wet them. To pee – to wee,
And more; and by a wee to say we end
The bladder ache and thousand natural spots
That dogs are heir to: ‘tis a micturition
Devoutly to be wished. To pee, to wazz;
To seep, perchance to stream – ay, there’s the job:
For in that leak of length what hounds may come
When we have shuffled along this mortal trail,
Must stay our paws – there’s the respect
That marks the territory of so long a walk.
For who would bear the cats and squirrels of time,
The weather’s wrong, the delivery man’s contumely,
The pangs of owner’s love, the snack’s delay,
The absence of sofas, and the spurns
That patient moan of the late walk takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare foreskin? Who would gardens bear,
To run and fetch with frisbee light,
But that the dread of something after supper,
The bare blanket’d basket from whose bourn
No hound returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear the owners we have
Than fly to owners that we know not of?
Thus rambles doth make bladders of us all,
And thus the straw coloured hue of micturition
Is trickled o’er the cast iron lampost,
And enterprises of great piss and moment
In this regard their currents go a’spray
And wet the name of action – Woof you now!
The fair Brodie! Nymph, in thy haunches
Be all my sins remember’d.

The Legend of King Stanley

Part the First
Wherein King Stanley doth receive his knights at Barkalot

And lo! did a myriad dogs run hot
making their way to Barkalot
to see the newly anointed king
who drew Snaxcalibur from the tin
And lo! Did every mutt and stray
from Munsterlander to Bichon Frise
journey there to pledge their fealty
(and check out the impressive realty)
And a great round basket was duly set
in the Hall so all dogs could lie in it
arguing amongst them who doeth what
who wouldst go fighting and who wouldst not

Part the Second
Whereby the Welsh Terrier Merlin adviseth Our Lurcher

And gravely did Merlin approach the sofa
where lyeth King Stanley after supper
and growlingly counsel about Snaxcalibur
and flicketh through pics on his pixie camera
to show the place the King must take
the magick treat though his heart doth break
and stand upon that fateful shore
and howl as he never howled before
then toss it out in one smooth shake
for the Lhasa Apso of the Lake
and then the prophesy will be complete
and he can go back on the sofa if he wipeth his feet

E.T. Stanley

Stanley was recently abducted by aliens
skimming the forest for homo sapiens
but their tractor beam missed in the spooky fog
and they ended up with an annoying dog

as they closed the glowing cargo doors
and saw the size of Stanley’s paws
they probably thought they’d bagged a yeti
and screamed as he jumped up on the settee

they tempted him off with alien treats
then buckled up snug in their saucery seats
as the spaceship wobbled and sped away
about a million feet per second I’d say

but half way back to the Outer Nebula
Stanley started to whine quite regular
until they snapped and shot straight back
and beamed him down to the forest track

and how do I know this? well – luckily
I could see the whole thing from behind a tree
I mean – aliens are smart and pretty advanced
but handling Stanley? No. Not a chance

the build up

Oh what is that awful, mournful wailing
super-sorrowfully assailing
my trembling ears while I sit here waiting?
THE WARNINGS OF A TERRIBLE BANSHEE?
No – just our Stanley
Please ignore him
If you feed him early you’ll just reward him

For the love of God what’s that lamentation?
That woeful whimper-and-whine combination
disturbing my telephone conversation?
SOME TORTURED SUBTERRANEAN MONSTER?
No – just our lurcher
Don’t make eye contact
If he sees you looking he’ll think you’ve cracked

Holy Mary Mother of Jesus!
What is that keening so thin and grievous?
Merciful heaven won’t someone relieve us?
THE TEARS OF AN ARISTOCRAT OFF IN A TUMBRIL?
No – just our mongrel
It couldn’t be grimmer
There’s still at least an hour before dinner

rap stanley

one two / one two
uh, uh

yeah

c’mon all you people an’ listen to me
while I tell you the news ‘bout dog stanley
his tail super-fail, his ears all tangly
long n’gangly
as big dogs go not exactly
manly
y’understan’ me?

that’s rap stanley
yeah

stanley by name, stanley by nature
stanley at the back gate lookin’ straight at ya
gassy n’flatulent
postures extravagant
an actual
contractual
who-gives-a-shit hound
king o’not much but lounging around
or lying flat out like a rug on the ground
making noises that sound
grammatically incompatible
with yer average hound
enough dog love to make the world go round

are ya gettin’ it clearly?
do you see him sincerely?

rap stanley
yeah

it’s stanley with an S T jes’ like a saint
but trust me when I tell ya a saint he ‘ain’t
his breath bad enough to bubble up paint
or make the rudest, roughest street vet faint

that’s stanley not stan lee
a man who apparently
came up with the whole goddamn marvel family
personal favourite? bony stark
yeah? he built this suit that flies and barks
and rescues squirrels over the park

yeah / uh / yeah

he eats at speed
he’s a leader on the lead
leg-lifting, super-grifting guaranteed
the gap-tooth guru of a canine cult
where you pay in bags of treats to consult
on all kindsa mystical matters occult
and give yer undying love as a result

man that stan can whine and bluff
all sneezy with dust and chesty with huffs
the kinda mutt the judges at crufts
recommend you end and maybe have stuffed
tie up his raggy ol’ hair in tufts
put his paws on wheels
so you can drag him round fields
or wherever you feel
dog shows, promos
who knows
a stanley stand with cute dog logos
five pound a pop for personal photos

‘cos he’s a bona fide
every day’s a friday
jump up on the sofa and kiss your blues goodbye day
a genuine, goddamn wolverine hero
stanley 10, all the others zero
sweeter than sweet n’low, madder than nero
trickier than the riddler
sings like mariah, maybe bette midler
so if you think you hate dogs woncha reconsider
‘cos as rescues go this mutt’s a winner

that’s rap stanley
yeah
yeah
uh

allow it

zzztanley

Stanley
is certainly
workmanly
when it comes
to slumbering
naps without numbering
all through the day
twenty or thirty at least I’d say
bonelessly stretched out on the floor in the way
or sprawled
in the hall
apparently comfortable on nothing at all
or semi-recumbent
snoozily redundant
on throws and cushions superabundant
busy
with the Zs
as floppy as you please
but then who needs balance
when inertia’s one of your primary talents?
then rising like he’s doped
and rolling through the house slack as a rope
to drop like a mop on the kitchen floor
four paws flat against the door
to be dreamily re-born
with a sneeze and a yawn
activity forsworn
snoring
adoringly
his head inevitably lower than his arse
(I know – don’t ask
I’m no famous sleep professor
maybe it makes his dreams flow better)