Fragments of a wikipedia article
the Isle of Dogs
cannot be reached without the crossing of water –
this is always dangerous.
dogs live happily on it
but it’s a dog’s life for everyone else.
it was originally called the Island of Ducks
but people mispronounced it.
or, perhaps, it was the dead dogs
always washing up on its banks
that gave it its name.
or, maybe, it was all the barques moored there
that the dogs themselves confused
with their own incessant barking at the ducks
and the canaries jubilantly warbling all day on the wharves.
in The Man from Uncle Mr Waverly always smoked
Isle of Dogs #22.
the canaries stayed away from him.
Robert Mapson
.