My Singing Basenji
My Basenji does not, of course, bark,
but she sings just as well as a lark.
**A coloratura
**who sang with bravura,
in the opera world, she left her “mark.”
Acclaimed for her excellent ear,
she sang twelve different operas a year.
**Her pitch was so sure
**and her tone was so pure
that her listeners, enthralled, would all cheer.
Her voice, loud and clear as a bell,
transfixed you, caused teardrops to swell.
**Her voice never cracked.
**The theaters were packed.
All were awed till the last curtain fell.
Her fan club consisted of bats,
opossums, raccoons, mice and rats,
**badgers, beavers and bears,
**humans, horses and hares,
coyotes … and even some cats.
Then one evening while singing Menotti
at the Met with the great Pavarotti,
**in the opening scene
**something quite unforeseen—
she squatted and out popped a potty
right on the proscenium stage!
The director went into a rage.
**The orchestra stopped,
**the curtain then dropped,
and they threw the poor dog in a cage.
That was it for my canine’s career.
But she still loves to sing, never fear!
**Though she ain’t no bow-wow-er,
**genes combined to endow ’er
with a voice that is pure crystal clear.
Of late she sings oldies and folk
and jazz. (Do you think I would joke?)
**She’s now singing for me
**with her paw on my knee
as we sit in our yard by the oak.
(Appeared in Lighten Up Online.)
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