Dog Songs thirty-five dog songs and one essay

FIRST TIME PERCY CAME BACK The first time Percy came back he was not sailing on a cloud. He was loping along the sand as though he had come a great way. "Percy," I cried out, and reached to him- those white curls- but he was unreachable. As music is present yet you can't touch it. "Yes, it's all different," he said. "You're going to be very surprised." But I wasn't thinking of that. I only wanted to hold him. "Listen," he said. "I miss that too. And now you'll be telling stories of my coming back and they won't be false, and they won't be true, but they'll be real." And. then, as he used to, he said, "Let's go!" And we walked down the beach together. Excerpted from Dog Songs by Mary Oliver All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.