Rudyard Kipling was ever so much more eloquent than I could ever be:Robert?The Power of the Dog
by Rudyard Kipling
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There is sorrow enough in the natural way
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
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Get a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless, it is hardly fair
To risk your heart to a dog to tear.
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When the sum of years which Nature permits
Are closing in; asthma, or tumor, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find its your own affair.
But you've given your heart to a dog to tear.
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When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled, how still!
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone, wherever it goes, for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.
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We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
And though it’s not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve
For when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-term loan is as bad as a long
So why in Heaven, before we are there
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?
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