X-ray of the Dog’s Hip

Here’s the first poem from my index card boxes for poems that start with the letter X:

X-ray of the dog’s hip

still in mind . . .

ocean waves

Truth be told, this is the only poem I’ve ever published that starts with the letter X. In assembling selections of poems from all my index cards, the reminder (not discovery) that I’d never published a poem starting with X got me to writing some. I’ve probably written some before, but none had ever been published. I wrote this poem on 27 May 2025, and submitted it to Dadakuku the day after, knowing that, if accepted, it would probably be published promptly. Indeed, it was accepted and published on their website on 3 June 2025. So now I’ve published poems that start with every letter of the alphabet. Should I stop submitting haiku now?

In a way, this was a prompt poem, with “X-ray” being a prompt. I immediately thought that an X-ray of a human body part, or the process of getting an X-ray, was possibly predictable. So I thought of a dog getting an X-ray. I see haiku as poems of empathy, so I imagined what it might be like to have one’s dog X-rayed and what it might be X-rayed for. Some dog breeds are prone to having hip dysplasia, so I thought of hips. I suppose if a dog owner can afford to X-ray their dog, that may say something about their affluence (or insurance), but that doesn’t shield them from the stress of having a hurt pet. It was intuitive to me to imagine such a pet owner going out in nature for possible stress-relief, and I immediately thought of the seaside and ocean waves. Waves always fascinate and nearly always calm me down. In hindsight, perhaps the “ship” I subconsciously saw in “dog’s hip” made me think of the ocean. Funny where inspiration might come from. I’ve never owned a dog, but I hope this exploration of empathy still resulted in a poem that feels authentic for any dog owner. Readers might also imagine X-rays of a human family member instead, and have similar feelings that might be calmed by a long stroll by the ocean.

—4 June 2025 (previously unpublished)