Epitaph to a Dog for shame. Ye, who behold perchance this simple urn, Pass on – it honours none you wish to mourn. To mark a friend’s remains these stones arise; I never knew but one -- and here he lies. </poem> Epitaph to a Dog "Epitaph to a Dog" (also sometimes referred to as "Inscription on the Monument to a Newfoundland Dog") is a poem by the British poet Lord Byron. It was written in 1808 in honour of his Newfoundland dog, Boatswain, who had just died of rabies. When Boatswain contracted the disease, Byron reportedly nursed him without any fear of becoming
Newfoundland English as in "that rock usually bes under water" instead of "that rock is usually under water", but normal conjugation of "to be" is used in all other cases. "Does be" is Irish grammar calqued into English - there is no habitual aspect in English, so Irish speakers learning English, would say "does be" as a literal translation of "bíonn mé" "I (habitually) am" The use of ownership in Newfoundland English is characterized by replacing words like "my" or "mine" with "me", an older form common in Irish, Scottish, Northern English and Western English dialects. Before the Great Vowel Shift, "my"