Each day I pray for a pleasant surprise to come my way and for the ability to recognize it when it comes. This weekend I had two but will only write about one of them today. It was a phone call from my sister, Mary, asking if I was alright because she hadn’t seen my blog for a week. Mary and I don’t talk all that often so I thought it very sweet of her to check up on me.  Not only that, it brought to mind a poem she shared with me a few months ago which I really liked and she gave me permission to share it with you. Enjoy.

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  Beautiful and Feisty

A mouse that stands up to full height

Bares its teeth ready to fight

The cat stalking its prey

But mouse is not the entrée today.

A snake ready to fight to the finish

An eighty-pound dog that can’t diminish

It’s tenacity as it returns bite for bite

Not knowing when to give up the fight.

 It refuses to slither away

From a dog amusing itself for the day

But coiled and tattered the snake now I find

Is grateful to be dropped over the fence to unwind. 

The spider that drops on a thread stronger than steel

Quickly mummifying its next meal

And just as quickly hauling it home

To the top of its web to eat all alone. 

The baby squirrel that falls from its nest

And does what a baby squirrel does best

Cries for help from anyone near

Its cries do not fall on deaf ears.

Its parents come to determine the damage

And figuring a way to manage,

The dad pins it down and holds it in check

While the mother grabs its babe by the neck.

Up the tree she runs with great speed

To attend to this little ones need

A scratch on the head seems to be all

The little one suffered from such a great fall.

 The mourning dove that hits the pane

And rises up to fly again

A headache may be all it received

From the patio door that so deceived.

 The racoons with their bandit eyes

Ignore my frantic shooing cries

They think it is their right

To raid my garbage can each night.

The dog that boldly saves its cat

From a coyote looking for a fast snack

The coyote was the one to take flight

From an eighty-pound dog ready to fight.

The ants that moved their nursery inside

A stupid place for ants to hide

They covered most of the kitchen floor

Too many just to drop out the door.

I don’t know what they were hiding from

But I am sorry to reveal their eventual outcome

A long dark tunnel with no light in sight                                    

The vacuum canister ended their flight.

There are many more stories I could add

Some happy, some sad

For nature truly rings

With the beauty and feistiness of all living things.

©Mary Frances Martin