BLESSING THE ANIMALS

Two by two, past

the portals of paradise,

camels & pythons parade.

As if on best behavior,

civil as robed billy goats

& Big Bird, they stroll

down aisles of polished stone

at the Feast of St. Francis.

An elephant daydreams, nudging

ancestral bones down a rocky path,

but won't venture near the boy

with a white mouse peeking

from his coat pocket. Beyond

monkeyshine, their bellows

& cries are like prayers

to unknown planets & zodiac

signs. The ferret & mongoose

on leashes, move as if they know

things with a sixth sense.

Priests twirl hoops of myrrh.

An Australian blue cattle dog

paces a heaven of memories -

a butterfly on a horse's ear

bright as a poppy outside

Urbino. As if crouched

between good & bad, St. John

the Divine grows in quintessence

& limestone, & a hoorah of Miltonic

light falls upon alley rats

awaiting nighttime. Brother

ass, brother sparrow hawk,

& brother dragon. Two

by two, washed & brushed down

by love & human pride,

these beasts of burden

know they're the first

scapegoats. After sacred

oils & holy water, we huddle

this side of their knowing

glances, & they pass through

our lives, still loyal to thorns.

Structure

41 lines · 2 stanzas