Day Eight: Happy birthday, bestia!

My friend here is six years old today, making our home beautiful since 2013 – which means that my stay in Italy will soon turn six too.

I have always loved the poem Good Bones from today’s prompt. I can see how they derived the following challenge from it but it deserved better. Yet, I’m a translator and such things as argot and professional slang are good to know. Let’s have a look:

Challenge 8: “Think about the argot of a particular job or profession, and see how you can incorporate it into a metaphor that governs or drives your poem.”

Every year on bestia’s birthday I post one photo for each month we have spent with our pack member and friend. Last year’s birthday post is here (and it includes the links to all his previous birthdays if you like puppy photos).

So I had known that whatever the challenge was today, I would have to incorporate bestia’s birthday into it. Unsurprisingly, K9 it is. If you don’t know what it means, say it out loud and think police K9 units.

K9

 “Can I?” Nein,  
 you cannot.

 “Cats nine, how many lives have I?”
 Let’s not find out.

 My best friend
 is my generation:

 six dog years  
 is 40 to 50 in human.

 Comic for nine,
 Clever for ninety-nine.

 Kind, questioning,
 curious, crazy.

 Fonzie, bestia,
 cane, ciccio.

 “Can I eat it?”
Yes, you can.
But you may not.

---

But most of all, as you will see, he is very polite. Happy birthday, bestia, and let’s carry on just as we were.

• 

  April, our beach in Tuscany: “Can we come here more often, please?”

• 

  May: “Can you tell me the name of this town, please?” (Sure, it’s Orvieto.)

• 

  June, Ljubljana garden with sister and friend: “Can you two come and live with us?”

• 

  July, Piran: “Can we please go out now, please?”

• 

  August, visiting Manči: “Ahh, can we get another dog, please?”

• 

  September, back to the splendour in the grass at home: “Can you bark at the passing cars, please? I’m really not feeling it right now.”

• 

  October, saying goodbye to Norm of Thursday Doors and his wife (who took the photo): “Can you two stay a bit longer?”

• 

  November, home. “Can all of you please move to a place where the sky is so blue in November?”

• 

  December, early Christmas with family in Slovenia: “Can you please compliment my posing skills?”

• 

  January, back to our beach: “Can I leave my political commentary on the year so far? Thank you!”

• 

  February, Rome: “Can I please stay here, please, I will be totally calm, please, thank you.”

• 

  March, Roman garden: *grumbles something about turning 50 soon*

For Day 8 of NaPoWriMo