Dogberry

Thorny climber dog rose
meanders among hedgerows:

in springtime flaunting blushing flowers,
where insects devour sweetest nectars;

in autumn, a birds’ banquet of scarlet hips
and a source of healthy syrups.

The Bard stole the name for his constable
in Much Ado, comically irresponsible.

Kim M. Russell, 18th May 2026

Image by Kate Macate on Unsplash

It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, time for writing Quadrilles with De, who says “This One’s Gone to the Dogs”.

This week we’re writing poems of precisely 44 words, including one word provided by our host, which is ‘dog’.I enjoyed the examples of poems and titles with that word in them, especially one of my favourite books, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, which I used a lot when I was teaching. By the way, the Mark Twain quotation also applies to cats!

41 thoughts on “Dogberry”

  1. Aha! Had to look up the name of the constable in Much Ado! You’ve blended reference to the bard so well with your wonderful imagery of the garden. You’ve a beautiful way of making gardens for your readers, Kim!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. For the Character? I admit, although I’ve read all of Shakespeare, I remember very few of the details, except for single lines. Dogberry I never would have remembered.

        Liked by 1 person

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