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Teehee, pastille.
Sylvia Plath was the sour-spirited, suicidal American poet who married Ted Hughes and lived (and died) in England. She often expressed horror of natural phenomena like, say, childbirth. 'The Colossus' was one of her earlier sour-spirited poems.

Malignant spirit- what enveloped Plath after first contraction, recalling 'The Colossus' (10)

Malignant spirit: IMP
what enveloped Plath(,) after first (D)RESS
contraction: I'VE
recalling (')The Colossus('): suggesting grandness, IMPRESSIVE

@ Mr A...nice one ..

So sorry to hear about your pooch, it is heartbreaking to loose a loved pet.

Xxx

Are you. Wearing a Stetson ?.?

Yes I know you are not in Texas....but here hoo...

pastille: It so happens my favorite hat is a Stetson, but it isn't a Western type, rather like a Homburg but with a wider brim that turns down a bit rather than up. Thanks for the condolences; it does leave a big hole, doesn't it?

Congratulations, ixion.

Hi aristo,
It can be a relief, though. We had a dog who grew old and used to wander nose first into room corners, then not be able to work out how to get out again. She occasionally got out of the house and, again, wandered, though mostly downhill - we got calls to our phone (listed on her collar) to the effect of "I'm very sorry, we've found your dog, but it looks like she has been hit by a car".
A (sad) relief when she died.
Our current dog is a collie of indeterminate age - dog with a history!

Congratulations, ixion - very, uh...impressive clue!

Yes, ChrisE, it was a relief. We didn't realize how blind he was till last summer when some friends took him in while we were in Alaska. I called to find out how he was doing, and learned that he'd fallen down the stairs and was walking into walls. At home he of course knew that his food dish was twelve steps from the sofa, then seven to the left. We have a leash law here, but we wouldn't have been able to let him run free anyway; he was a beagle and if he was on a scent he'd without question run out into traffic. By some miracle he survived an interstate spree when he was a young lad; he bolted through the door one day and after calling around for a couple of days we assumed he'd been hit by a car, but it turned out he'd checked himself into the slammer- he showed up at the door of an animal shelter in Rhode Island begging to be let in. They really are crazy, endearing creatures.

Well done ixion, great clue

With you there, pastille, love Dallas but found it difficult to hear/comprehend anything at first. Was that the dear poison dwarf with Ray??
Swellun looks less confused than before. Liked your clue, too.