Thursday, July 28, 2011

i pick up things that have died



i am in touch with nature.
the living and the dead.
i pick up things that have died.
with my hands.
like the cat, yesterday,
that lay in the center of buffalo street
with its head completely soaked in blood.

it had died hours before i found it,
cars and people having passed it by.
it was just shy of stiff
and i took it by the tail,
apologizing, apologizing
for its difficult death.

it was loved by someone.
  it existed.
  it mattered.
 so it went to the nearest lawn, gently.

i saw the color of blood, still wet,
on fur and asphalt~
the same color as black raspberries
just before they turn ripe.

and the dragonfly, also dead,
held lightly between my fingers.
i saw the cellophane wings
that shimmer the rainbow across
their panes when held to the light of the sun.

6 comments:

  1. what a heart you have. this is beautiful in all kinds of ways.

    xoxo

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  2. I love this poem! You should check out my blog Strung Hearts to the Young where I do creative writing. (:

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  3. Yes, I do this also. There is a stain on the street in my neighborhood from a dog I found, dead, & moved to "safety". I always bow to him in my heart when I walk by that place in the road, tattooed by his transition.

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  4. Could have used your skills yesterday when passing by a newly minted soul of a rabbit. The kids were with me so I didn't stop. I felt compelled to whisper a prayer and keep going, hoping another driver would have the ability to stop and move it.

    Dragonflies too? Your photo. Has me wondering. I seem to attract the living ones like mad. They will land on me and cock their little heads to and fro as if in conversation with me. Well I'm sure they are.

    xoxo

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  5. woah, Gracie, that just shook me. It did matter, and I'm so glad (and sad at the same time) that you were there to give it witness after its spirit had flown.
    beautifully written.

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  6. i missed this before, it just made me cry, thinking of george. i picked him up, didn't even think about it.
    you have the soul of an angel.

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I always appreciate the time you take to comment on my blog. Thank you for stopping by. Peace from my heart to yours. xo, Graciel