3QD’s own Justin Erik Halldór Smith, in his personal blog:
This is another poem, originally published in Duchamp Magazine, that I place in the genre “children’s literature for adults.” The titular Marcel is a small dog, a terrier snub of snout, who in reality is not a beautician but clearly would be in the alternative universe of anthropomorphized animals.
Marcel’s House of Beauty
If you’re from one of the four-footed folk,
Or if you’re two-footed, but hatched from a yolk,
You still must be mindful to do up your hair,
Before your appearance on land or in air
Among other creatures of your kin and kind,
First tend to your face. Pay it some mind!But if you need help before you set out,
If you can’t seem to do a darn thing for your snout,
All hope is not lost, there’s no need to pout,
Thanks to Mr. Marcel.For creature care that’s always right,
—And we don’t mean this to sound snooty—
But if you’re nocturnal and you’ve got a big night,
Or you’re diurnal, but look a fright in daylight,
There’s only one place for you to go:
And that’s Marcel’s House of Beauty.There’s matted-haired oxen and sweaty gnus
Getting shampoos Lord knows they could use.
The camel is having her ample humps drained,
She claims it’s relaxing, though looks rather pained.There’s gabbing gazelles and yammering yaks,
Gossiping under the dryers,
But the proper hyrax won’t have any of that.
She knows ungulates are all liars.There’s a few guinea pigs and one stylish rat,
On her whiskers, curlers; on her tail, some wax,
But it’s a rare day indeed that you’ll see a wombat,
Thanks to the municipal marsupial tax.Marcel would service any beast,
Right down to bacteria, amoebas, and yeast,
(Except, we must note, for the gorgeous gorilla,
Who saunters in dressed to the nines.
He refers the madame to the new Primate Parlour,
Down the street just a couple of vines.)
…continue reading the rest of the poem here.