(excerpt)

Those Presidential Pets

Along with children, First Ladies, and presidents,

the executive mansion had notable residents.

Scaly, smooth, feathered, furred,

they barked, they whinnied, they hissed, they purred.

Carefully bred, welcomed, selected,

or arriving as gifts, strange, unexpected:

creatures domestic, creatures exotic

from friends or from fans, from leaders despotic.

For transport, delight, comfort, protection,

for photo ops, food, and sometimes deflection

from reporters’ probing interviews,

from stress, bad press, unpleasant news.

Welcomed with affection or sometimes with regrets,

witnesses to history–those presidential pets.