"The sweetness of dogs (fifteen)
What do you say, Percy? I am thinking
of sitting out on the sand to watch
the moon rise. Full tonight.
So we go
and the moon rises, so beautiful it
makes me shudder, makes me think about
time and space, makes me take
measure of myself; one iota
pondering heaven. Thus we sit,
I thinking of how grateful I am for the moon's
perfect beauty and also, oh! How rich
it is to love the world. Percy, meanwhile,
leans against me and gazes up into
my face, As though I were
his perfect moon."
by Mary Oliver
I am a fan of full moons, Mary Oliver, and pets who adore us. My cat is not one of those pets tonight. Maybe it's the full moon, but he keeps gnawing on the Christmas tree (in its plastic glory... not a real tree). A couple of hours ago I left for a meeting (which turned into a grand conversation instead of an actual meeting... nothing was accomplished, and it was wonderful) while he sat under the tree batting at the sock monkey hanging from the branches. When I returned home the sock monkey was on the floor, and the cat was sleeping on the couch as though no battle had taken place. Now, the sock monkey sits straddling a new branch out of danger. The full moon rises in the darkness, and perhaps my cat will now "gaze(s) up into my face, As though I were his perfect moon" or maybe...
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