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The Legal Studies Forum
Volume 30, Number 1/2 (2006) reprinted by permission Legal Studies Forum Lawyers & Poets A World Re-Composed KENNETH KING _______________________ Statement of Barking Philosophy A dog that is talking about barking is not barking, Though a dog's bark sounds like talking, And barking is the talking that dogs do. Still, a dog that is barking and a dog that is barking about barking Are not the same dog: there is the frightened bark And the pissed-off bark and the joyous bark And the stick-this-in-your-ears bark and the Oh-how-much-I-miss-sucking-at-my-mommy's-tit bark And the I-dreamed-all-night-about-sticking-it-in-her-tail bark And the if-you-try-to-deliver-the-mail-in-here-I'm going-to-bite- your-damned-leg-off bark And the what-are-those-lights-flashing-on-and-off-in-the-middle- of-the-night-for bark And the how-did-I-come-to-this-anyway, chained-to-a-doghouse- and-six-feet-of-earth?-bark. The bark-about-barking bark is not the same thing: The you-think-you-got-things-to-complain-about bark, Or the if-you-say-it's-that-bad-I'll-take-your-word-for-it bark , Or the maybe-if-we-both-bark-loud-enough-they'll-come-and-let- us-loose bark, Or the hey-man-who-gives-a-shit-let's-party bark. I mean if you want to hear my barking just say so. But don't ask me to bark about barking. I don't think dogs read rhetorics, do they? I guess you have to be tied to a chain for a while And then get pissed or melancholy about it, And then you know, the barking just kind of takes over, And you sort of become the barking, that's what you are. You don't really care who's listening. And you get wrapped up in it, And you start listening to it, And you take what you just did and you do it again, With more feeling this time. [551]
Kenneth King is a native of Kentucky, and taught English at a community college before taking up the study of law in 1995. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Berea College, an M.A. from the University of Kentucky, a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, and his J.D. from Vanderbilt in 1998. His poetry appeared in various literary journals and magazines before he went to law school. After law school, King clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, worked for Legal Aid, and practiced law in Somerset Kentucky. King is now an English professor at Western Kentucky University. "Statement of Barking Philosophy" was previously published in Northwest Review. |
