Hi Neva, I came across the older poem "Canine Memories" at read and review and I'm here to give you my thoughts. I am using a template on explication provided today at "Re: The Art of Reviewing Poetry"  

TITLE: I think any dog lover will be sure to stop at this poem and read because of your title. That might even extend to animal lovers in general.

IMAGERY: This poem paints vivid imagery of the stages of a dog's life with its master. The imagery is not only visual but sensual. I felt the sand and its changing temperature when reading. I saw the boy grow into a man, possibly a soldier.

Figurative imagery uses associative figures of speech to describe something by comparing it to something else. These techniques include metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism, and onomatopoeia.

RHYMING & REPETITION: There is no end rhyme but your liberal use of assonance and alliteration are musical sounds when read aloud. The development of time, aging progresses strophe by stophe.

RHYTHM: This poem reads smoothly and fluidly out loud. Your line breaks give emphasis to core words. Each strophe is a time unit giving pause before moving on.

STRUCTURE & FORM: This poem is written in Free Verse the structure of which is mentioned directly above and which contributes beautifully to the rhythm of the piece. There is a typo in L14 "as the" should be "as they". Otherwise no technical error jumped out at me.

THEME: The theme of this poem is "aging" as seen through the eyes of a dog.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:I found this piece, heartwarming.

Thanks for another good read.

~~Tink



My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!" .