Clever Poetry

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House by Billy Collins
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

I chose this poem because I know that insane feeling you get when something is irritating you all to well. It's like the noise or whatever it is is out to get you or something and I think Billy Collins captures this feeling perfectly. The title fits it perfectly because something as annoying as a dog barking constantly makes you feel like you're going to go postal if it doesn't stop. Also it captures your attention too.
The repetitive "b" sound has a harsh almost abrasive (theres that b again) sound to it which fits with the constant barking of the dog. Obviously the repetition of the word "bark" does this too. Powerful imagery enhances the poem because it lets the reader imagine the dog sitting out in the symphony barking away too.
The tone is almost irritated to the point of irrationality/insanity. Collins achieves this by centering eveything in the poem around the dog's bark and slowly creating images that are more and more "out there" I guess. First he can image the dog being flipped on or wound up like a toy and then sitting in the orchestra and then finally the soloist in the orchestra. There is also a rhythm to the poem that is continually broken/interrupted by the harsh "b" sound similar to how the dog's barking keeps interrupting his thoughts.
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/billy_collins/poems/11282