The Day My Dog Spontaneously Combusted
there he was –
chasing sticks,
doing tricks,
and all that stuff
next minute, woof
there he was –
chasing sticks,
doing tricks,
and all that stuff
next minute, woof
Some news! I have a new book of poems for children coming out in a couple of months – Let Sleeping Cats Lie.

It’s a collection of poems about pets (dogs, cats, goldfish, chinchilla, guinea pigs, snakes, budgies, rabbits, blue whales etc). I say it’s for children but it’s also suitable for grandchildren and, who knows, some grown-ups might enjoy it, too; I don’t like to be too prescriptive.
It publishes on 26th September in the UK. If you fancied pre-ordering a copy, you can do so through your local bookshop or visiting this page with links to some online booksellers:
https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/brian-bilston/let-sleeping-cats-lie-pet-poems/9781035050550
Here’s a poem from the collection:
Wilf the Labracadabrador
Wilf the Labracadabrador
(who in dog years is seventy-six)
is a magician, a conjurer
and a hypnotist.
He saws teddies in half.
He pulls rabbits from hats.
He makes all his food vanish,
just like that.
Renowned for his showdogship
and smooth sleight of paw,
Wilf’s about to em-bark
on a nationwide tour.
Last week, I showed him
how to juggle with sticks.
Whoever said you can’t teach
an old dog new tricks?
there he was,
chasing sticks,
doing tricks,
and all that stuff
next minute, woof
Frisbee whizzing
through the air
above our heads
over the sand
into the water
onto the waves
out to sea.
You cried a lot that day.
Frisbee was a lovely dog.