Poems About Laika (the Soviet Space Dog)

poems about Laika (the soviet space dog)

i’ve been hunting for one in specific, and during my quest, i have seen that very many beautiful poems about this creature have been written. I wanted to compile them.

“first dog in space” by brennig davies / “They say that, from space, the Earth looks like a small, blue ball. I’ll throw it for you, Laika, if you’ll chase it, dart through the stratosphere like a comet, undeserving of its fate.”

“laika” by claire williamson / “for three hours she was weightless, pulse racing, but ate her dinner, alive to see an orbital sunrise.”

“laika” by adnana zeljkovic / “Paddling with her soft paws in inimical vacuum, (nothing to draw you to your bosom like Mother Earth’s gravitation) herself soft snowflake,”

“laika” by paul gerard reed / “The stars that shone have all gone out as man betrayed your trust, but your spirit is still in place somewhere, out there in space.”

“laika” by dave lewis / “But when you gave me that final kiss on the nose I suppose deep down inside I knew my destiny lay among the stars. Alone, in silence, I watched the world spinning round, one thousand miles below.“

“i remember laika” by jan oskar hansen / “The farewell can’t be delayed a boy has run to the outer field sits on a stone tries not to cry the struggle to accept the unavoidable.”

“muttnik” by tumblr user @fateology / “I don’t mind. I just miss you. I miss you like the space that lies between two breaths. Full to burning.”

“for the first dog in space” by lavinia greenlaw / “Laika, do not let yourself be fooled by the absolute stillness that comes only with not knowing how fast you are going. As you fall in orbit around the earth, remember your language. Listen to star dust. Trust your fear.”

“laika” by sarah doyle / “Brave little cosmonaut, caught and collared, Earth no more than a distant ball with which you cannot play.”

“laika” by adrian sobol / “If there is light, it’s pressing down on you. Something stirs inside it.”

“first the dog” by zbigniew herbert / “awkwardly we bump into stars / we see nothing we hear nothing / we beat with our fists on the dark ether / on all the wavelengths is a whining”

you are welcome to add more poems to this post if you have any in mind to recommend.

happy st.pepper

When I Call Her My Husband - Barrie Jean Borich (1999) 

everyday i wake up ready to commit lesbianism

USA Native Plant Resource Masterlist

Because Google is totally useless and won't help you with ANYTHING

iNaturalist: Take photos of living things you see, post them, and the community will identify them for you. Data from iNaturalist is used in scientific research.

Wildflower.org Plant Database: Enter search criteria and find some plants. Very useful if you're looking for plants with specific qualities or know what you have in mind.

Native Plant Finder: This website is still in beta and is a work in progress, but it will show you plants for your area ranked by the number of butterflies that use them for their caterpillars.

WildflowerSearch: AMAZING resource for identification and for learning about new plants. Shows you where plants are native/not native, TONS of search filters.

Native Plant Trust: A New England organization, but probably useful to anyone.

Northern Forest Atlas: Great images and identification resources for trees; has good pictures of bark, seeds, buds, leaves.

FloraFinder: Another plant database site that's being slowly built up by a passionate nerd.

MonarchWatch milkweed by USA ecoregion: Tells you what milkweed species you should plant for monarch butterflies.

Native Beeology: Not plants, but a closely related subject.

I will add more and post an updated list as I find more.