Your Stoic Heartbeat
A little too thin, you move with quick feet
Low profile allows you to steal what you eat
Hunkered down in the corner, you take sleep
A different drummer drives your stoic heartbeat
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Silent night you bed down away from main street
Under the moon, the same, with a twist offbeat
Loved in turn by the quiet brood you keep
A different drummer drives your stoic heartbeat
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Heavy eyes surrender any fear of a hasty retreat
Life in the wild demands you make you own heat
Moment to moment runs a new balance sheet
A different drummer drives your stoic heartbeat
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Wary by nature demands the utmost discreet
Wish for wings sans footsteps that spoil the treat
With hope to lessen the dangers you cheat
A different drummer drives your stoic heartbeat
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Dignity lives in the small needs that you meet
God's destiny fulfilled in a life that's complete
With antennas that render footprints in fleet
A different drummer drives your stoic heartbeat
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Although, I live for comments that reveal personal interpretation, I wanted to leave my inspiration for this piece with you. As most of you already know, I finalized a divorce and in rapid succession, as life tends to do, I was laid off two-weeks later. Having never experienced the degree of uncertainty that is now a part of my daily life, I have become acutely aware of how precarious life is.
Now, living in an apartment, where my financial circumstances will soon dictate cheaper digs, I spend time outside, under the huge magnolia tree, accommodating the needs of my canine companion. I miss gardening so I do something productive by cleaning up the huge daily pile of dead leaves and blossoms discarded by the beautiful tree. MacGregor, being the terrier he is, was relentlessly scratching at the ground a week ago when I heard faint, cheeping sounds. I quickly investigated to find the surface of the ground moving up and down. My neighbor pulled some of the loose nest away to find tiny, newborn critters, which I quickly covered back up. In talking with my BFF, she told me that they are probably newborn rabbits. Since finding them, every evening when I am out with MacGregor for his final break before bed, I creep quietly to the front yard and see the mother rabbit over her nest. I have been stealthily putting fresh water and carrots or fruit under the magnolia tree for the nursing new mama. I will be "on the alert" when I see the grasscutter come!
This stoic little rabbit, is following instinct for not only her own survival, but that of her family, against overwhelming odds. She will never know how she inspired me and what she taught me about doing what I must. And, despite the cruelty of nature, it holds promise, great beauty and valueable life lessons. It gives me hope.
Thank you
