This poem is about a dog who loves to bark at everything. It’s written from the point of view of a child who thinks the reason his dog doesn’t bark on Christmas Eve is because he’s in love with Santa’s reindeer. It’s the perfect poem for children in the holiday season and includes rhyme and alliteration.
“I Think My Dog Loves Reindeer”
By Kia West
I think my dog loves reindeer
Deep down in his heart,
Because barking at intruders
Has become his special art.
But on the eve of Christmas
He didn’t make a peep,
Santa Claus came and went
And we all stayed asleep.
Perhaps Santa used a special bribe
Or knows how to rub his belly,
But Rudolph wouldn’t stand a chance
Against my guard dog, Nelly.
Nelly likes to chase a cat
Just to see it scared.
One day he chased a rabbit,
He had his teeth all bared.
A guinea pig or little dog,
They wouldn’t stand a chance
But my dog and the reindeer?
It must be true romance
Poetic Devices:
Rhyme
Alliteration
A bit more about this dog poem…
This poem is great for teaching simple rhyme schemes, especially in the holiday season. It has a simple A,B,C,B pattern to its rhyme that is consistent throughout the poem; this means that in each stanza or verse, the last word in the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other.
The poem also includes several examples of alliteration (when consonant sounds are repeated at the beginnings of words).
This poem was inspired by Kia West’s dog, Charlie, who usually loves to bark and growl at anything that moves, but will sometimes greet surprising animals or people with quiet enthusiasm…like the snakes and blue tongue lizards he tries to kiss!
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