September 2020
Bio Note: During this unprecedented time, what has comforted me, in addition to my son
and distanced meetings with friends and family, poetry readings, has been the company of my animal
family, as well as the "pen," although in most cases, with my trigger finger, I rely on the laptop.
Whether it is my ink or someone else's, I find solace and connection in the reading and writing of it.
Today I forsake the company of people
for the easy conversation of cats, and dogs who keep me on my toes, warm my feet, speak with ears cocked, the better to show me their attention is transfixed. What more do we want than scent, well-placed scratches, a full stomach? To be content with only touch— with not talking or thinking overmuch. The silent gaze and knowing tongue, the kneading, the instinct to understand when play is needed, and when just being is enough— a sigh, a stretch, a soft rumble of cat happiness.
Originally published in Your Daily Poem
What Is Essential
Your honey ears perk up as I read you The Little Prince; like the fox you know language is the source of misunderstandings. You sniff and lick instead, your tongue velvet – like rose petals – your teeth thorns, poised to protect. You know better than to seek admiration or count stars like currency; you get drunk on games of fetch, know day from night without the benefit of lamplight. You understand the necessity of keeping the baobabs at bay and raking out the volcanos – even the ones that might be extinct. You dig out roots in the yard and rake the carpet into submission. We have our rites and our rituals. I have walked and watered you. You warm my feet at night. You have tamed me and wait patiently while I am taken away by a migration of wild birds. In the end, you pull me back, a well singing to my soul: she loves me, she loves me.
Originally published in Red Wolf Journal
©2020 Betsy Mars
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