Animal Poem for Mary
rhapsody March 7th, 2007
By J. O. LeClerc
Why DOG ???
why not Woof, Arrf, Arrggh, Rrrrrr, Yellp!
what’s “Dog” – I mean I don’t want no help
I don’t need no etymology
I dig birds (oiseaux, or “whahz”)
yeah “Birds” – But I don’t need no rodomontade
no ornithology
people who love animals anthropomorphosize them
that’s entirely cool. They care for their furry and/or feathered friends
they do no harm. Saint Francis spoke to brother dog n brother cat
Francis saw how light shaft glory through a shadowy cloud so brightly bends
he loved the world he lived in n that – all sentient friends – that verily is where it’s at
yay, (amen) brothers and sisters (hermanos y hermanas) yeah, si, that (amen) that is that.
sparrows sing amazing jazz scats to honor brother sun
swooping chirps and trills, Coney Island Cyclone thrills
much like John Coltrane (hmm…, like Bird) but yeah – like Trane
they love summer, they love the sun,
take cover under green leaf boughs n stay quiet in the rain
rain stops – those little sparrows – they come out again
They sing so gentle, sing so soft,
then its time for food – or sparrow love
then those little pajaritos soar aloft
hey hey – but remember now the rule of fang n claw
brother cat wants (yes he does, yes he does) he wants little brother song bird offed
that’s their nature. that’s their law.
hunters, veterinarians – God’s got ‘em both dumbed n dwarfed
sister lioness, sister lamb, together shall share the same warm bed of straw
I’m a human male – my biology’s wired for total war
but I know that killin’s not at all, no – not at all what I – what I am – what I – not what I am here for
I know – because it’s just like the brilliant – the amazing Blaise Pascal’s holy illuminant Night of Fire
all human contraption n seduction aint nuthin’ compared to what is truly, truly, truly higher
aint nuthin’ to what is higher
to what is higher, higher, higher, higher.
God save all precious life on this – on this fallen planet in the stars.
God save all of those and them and that – that we believe, that we believe
that we believe – in some broken human way – that we believe, that we believe
in some lost and found, in some redemptive human way – in some way to be ours
Thanks to my friend, M. LeClerc,
for permission to post his poem,
written for his animal-friendly
friend, Mary.
