grr

*
EPITAPH FOR A DOG

Thieves I attacked; for lovers I kept still;
And so performed my lord's, and lady's, will.

—Martin Opitz (1597-1639)

translation by Raymond Oliver, in his book "To Be Plain: Translations from Greek, Latin, French, and German", 1981—

*
my flings at it:

GOOD DOG BAD DOG

I keep the thieves at bay
With growls and grunts and grrs—
But I look the other way
For gigolos and lovers:
Thus doubly I obey
Both my Lord's and Lady's orders.

...

huh:

I barked off thieves afraid
of my lunges jumps and gyres,
while lovers came or stayed—
see how straitly I obeyed
both my Lord's and Lady's desires.

('gyres' doesn't work . . . maybe 'flyers' (as leaps), or fleeing thieves—

My barks kept thieves afraid
and turned them into flyers

and sent them helter-skyers

and fled/sped them fast-off flyers

and set their heels to fires

outliers / liars / briars

(my barks were sharp as briars)

My snarls kept thieves afraid,
my barks bit them like briars

/

My barks kept thieves afraid
and set their heels to fires, / heels at fires

/
My barks made burglars turn afraid
and spanked their cars to backfires,
while panting lovers parked and played—
a special traffic-ward-dog, I obeyed
both my Master and Mistress's desires.

/
My barks made burglars terrified
and spanked their cars to backfires,
while lovers parked and slinked inside—
doubly-good guarddog, I satisfied
both my Master and Mistress's desires.

/
Thieves and burglars ran terrified,
my yips and yaps were vicious—
but lovers I let slip inside:
thus janus-face I satisfied
my Master's and Mistress's wishes.

///