So you have a life with no animals?
How quiet that must be.
And hair free. You say “care free!”
My life is full of animals big and small!
It can be as noisy as can be.
Hairy, scary, and wild to see.
Wild critters, most tame and some not sure.
Each gives more than it takes.
Freely loving, forgiving, and loyal.
For every mess I clean up, there is love
Freely given, every time, and grace.
They are fools, they are wise.
I bust them sleeping on my pillows
Or leaving a mess on the floor.
When I’m ready to lose it, they come.
Tails wagging, small bodies purring
I can breathe because they love.
Unconditionally, no strings.
Horse kisses from soft muzzles – sweet!
Cow kisses from long rough tongues – uh.
Dog and cat push and nuzzle.
Wild birds come to visit. Soaring, Singing.
Deer sleeping on the lawn. Trusting.
Coyotes sing a choral mashup!
Some days I imagine a life with no animals.
And the silence, the clean seems to appeal.
I am brought back! I know animals!
I know their ways. I know and love them.
All God’s creatures, great and small.
We are one too – so we all belong.
Sneaking cookies or sleeping on pillows.
Counter surfing and leaving deposits
Hair, mud, blood, spit and shit.
Holding them as they enter the world.
Loving them as they sadly leave.
Knowing them through it all.
Know animals? Oh yes I do.
No animals? Not a chance.
The talented Marina is tending bar for us at dVerse and we are talking about animals. I just moved across the prairies with two cats and two dogs, put the cows and horses with trusted friends and let an elder dog stay with a dear friend. This is the first year I won’t see my cows calve, or have that first spring ride on my horse. But I know we’ll see them again, and that God has a plan. Even in the middle of a wildly crazy mess, there is a plan.
Sunflower Poetry 