The Apples in My Orchard

It’s Poetry Friday and since I’ve already written my Medium.com post for today, and have three pet poems written, I thought I’d join in sharing with the group this week.

My pet poems were prompted by a call for submissions to a literary magazine. Unfortunately, none were accepted, but that’s actually okay, as I felt the self-editing and submission experience was efficient and positive.

We’ve had cats as pets over most of our married life (35 years) together. First, there was Scamper, then we added Mitzi. Then, we got Harrison. When they had all passed (they were indoor cats) we got Lewis and Clark from a farm near where we lived. They were blood brothers as well as barn cats with a host of other tiny specimens that rubbed our legs the day we went to pick out a cat, which turned into cats.

Lewis and Clark were with us for many years, well over a dozen. They grew into fat, affable house pets that most of us enjoyed. When they died several years ago, I was very sad. Lewis especially tugged at my heart when he died only a short time after Clark – probably of a broken heart – stopped eating. His Alpha brother was gone and waiting for him to eat first would not bring him back, no matter how long Lewis waited…which apparently was too long.

A few years after they died, in 2019, my husband saw a litter of yellow labrador puppies for sale on Craig’s list and asked if I wanted one. Now, before you judge, the people we got our lab, Molly, from were breeders, certified by the American Kennel Club. They owned both the mother and father of the little of seven purebred puppies. Molly, as it turned out, was the only puppy left when we contacted the owners. My husband arranged to go get her in a week, and they started calling her Molly, so by the time we got her from her birth family, she knew her name. She was a great find and so was this family!

Molly imprinted on my husband on the drive home from Green Bay – four hours away. She loves my husband (and, me, too). And this love of Molly’s was the impetus for my pet poem about her.

Molly’s Perspective 


A gentle one of
smooth white fur
wanting love
from all to reassure.

Afraid of alarms
That beep and sing
Also, of swarms 
That buzz and sting.

I hide from the oven
No matter what’s inside
But soon I’ll be lovin’
And beaming with pride.

My master is home
Hearing his voice 
Makes me roam 
To find him and rejoice.

I jump and kiss
And wag my tail
I don’t want to miss
My human, a male.

He’s everything to me
I’ll show him now,
Wag, lick, bark, can’t you see?
I am a bow-wow! 


© Carol Labuzzetta, 2022


I wrote two other pet poems, one about our son's cat Peanut who comes to stay with us on a regular basis when our son travels and another about a pet we never knew we had.  I think I'll save those for another time when I'm in need of a poem to post.  Out of the three poems, my husband liked the poem about Molly the best and my son (Peanut's Dad) liked it the least! This just could be the result of Molly and Peanut being "their" pets. I like both poems, as well as the third. 

Writing the pet poems were fun and I have a few more ideas for others, down the road. A friend who is a Judge had a turtle in his chambers for years and of course, now we have Stewie, our youngest son's dog, as part of our family, too. Yes, there are more pet poems to come.

Lastly, the leaves in the Northwoods of Wisconsin have been stunning this year. I can't help but share a few of my photographs with you! 

Poetry Friday is hosted this week by Sarah Grace Tuttle on her same named blog. Be sure to visit for her post and links to more poetry from the participants. Thank you!