Disdain to please
On any set design,
But make a thrall
Of one and all
By simple Right Divine.
The Pekinese
Our houses seize
And mold them till they suit,
For everyone's Napoleon
And Wellington to boot.
The Pekinese
Demosthenes
Requires no voice to plead:
Those shining eyes,
So soft, so wise,
Get everything they need.
The Pekinese
From autumn trees
Their colour scheme obtain;
And all their lives
Their frugal wives
From any change refrain.
The Pekinese
Abstain from fleas
And doggy things like that,
But hate it when
Unthinking men
Compare them to the cat.
The Pekinese
Have feathered knees,
And plumes where tails should be,
And as they race
About the place
They ripple like the sea.
The Pekinese,
Although such wees,
Are destitute of fear;
Both fleet and strong,
They bounce along,
As buoyant as the deer.
The Pekinese
Say "Bread and cheese
Will do for such as you;
For us a fare
More choice and rare,
And jolly punctual too."
The Pekinese
Adore their ease
And slumber like the dead;
In comfort curled
They view the world
As one unending bed.
The Pekinese
On China's seas
Embarked to win the West;
A piece of Ming's
a lovely thing,
But oh! the dogs are best.
~ E. V. Lucas, 1930~