The Revenant
By: Billy Collins
I am the dog you put to sleep,
as you like to call the needle of oblivion,
come back to tell you this simple thing:
I never liked you—not one bit.
When I licked your face,
I thought of biting off your nose.
When I watched you toweling yourself dry,
I wanted to leap and unman you with a snap.
I resented the way you moved,
your lack of animal grace,
the way you would sit in a chair to eat,
a napkin on your lap, knife in your hand.
I would have run away,
but I was too weak, a trick you taught me
while I was learning to sit and heel,
and—greatest of insults—shake hands without a hand.
I admit the sight of the leash
would excite me
but only because it meant I was about
to smell things you had never touched.
You do not want to believe this,
but I have no reason to lie.
I hated the car, the rubber toys,
disliked your friends and, worse, your relatives.
The jingling of my tags drove me mad.
You always scratched me in the wrong place.
All I ever wanted from you
was food and fresh water in my metal bowls.
While you slept, I watched you breathe
as the moon rose in the sky.
It took all of my strength
not to raise my head and howl.
Now I am free of the collar,
the yellow raincoat, monogrammed sweater,
the absurdity of your lawn,
and that is all you need to know about this place
except what you already supposed
and are glad it did not happen sooner—
that everyone here can read and write,
the dogs in poetry, the cats and the others in prose.
Discussion Questions:
Garth Stein cites "The Revenant" as an early inspiration for writing The Art of Racing in the Rain, but clearly the perspective and voice in this poem, spoken by a dog, differ greatly from Enzo's perspective and voice. Some questions to think about:
1) What are some similarities and differences between Enzo and this poem's speaker?
2) What relationship between man and dog is proposed by "The Revenant" as compared to Stein's novel? Where do their propositions intersect and diverge?
3) How does this poem relate to the opening scene of The Art of Racing in the Rain?
4) What does this poem suggest about the nature of dogs and their ancestry? (Focus on the eighth stanza and the idea of howling.) Where in his novel does Stein also explore the place of dogs in the animal kingdom?
5) Why do you think this poem about a seemingly misanthropic dog would inspire Stein to write a novel about a dog who longs more than anything to be a human?
