i was going to paint ducklings and ducks today…
all day
since i saw them,
newly hatched,
all waddling behind their mother –
hope and trust in motion –
that is what i was going to paint,
as if one can control these things –
.
but as i drive down the dirt of the road home,
there, in front of my driveway, is a small bundle of black fur, in the road
with two gals and a guy – their car stopped just ahead-
i pull into my drive, stop.
get out.
go to the one girl who is now cradling the little limp body…
what do i do? she asked,
you give him to me, i answer.
her eyes fill up,
so do mine.
his limp body, still warm, still perfect, too silent in my arms…
thank you so much for stopping i say..
bless you… really
i turn up the driveway…a small drop of red now appearing on the jet black nose…
we dig a grave, and place him in it….
and pray
for the small young cat, for the girls that stopped
and for the stranger that killed him with their car…
.
we sit down for a moment, watching the light fade,
our backs to the graveyard – and when we turn back,
there is a small black cat
sitting atop the newly turned earth..
we blink – for a moment reality shifted –
the suddenly present black cat, looks down to the ground and then back to us…
this is real
and
i realize trust and hope
in motion.
the ducklings were only the preamble.