Dog Heaven

I found my notes for Stephanie Vaughn's "Dog Heaven" and reread the story this afternoon. I had wrote down "... a fact was something solid and useful, like a penknife in your pocket in case of emergency." That is probably still my favorite detail from the story. The whole story is great: the friendship, which is probably a boy/girl friendship instead of boy/boy, even though it isn't explicit and the way Vaughn does it is awesome; the doom about the dangerous current of the river from the opening page, the sad unexpected ending. The only problem I have with the story is the final lines: "It was a good day, it was a good day, it was a good day." Those lines are too close in my head to "they is, they is, they is" from "Bullet in the Brain." But, overall, the story is a touching childhood friendship/dog-loving story, rich with vivid and unforgettable details.

And a rough draft of a poem:

Peaches

I send copies of "The Colonel" in the mail to Hannah,
in large manila envelopes, with a post-it note telling her
I have too many copies. On each copy, I write notes
about how to do well in her class: talk about phone trees
or laugh after a story that should makes you feel sad.
And if there's a ear on the ground, pick up
and put it over yours, like a sea shell and listen.