Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Luke, and Ara



Luke
by Mary Oliver

I had a dog
  who loved flowers.
     Briskly she went
         through the fields,

yet paused
   for the honeysuckle
     or the rose,
        her dark head

and her wet nose
   touching
      the face
         of every one

with its petals
  of silk,
    with its fragrance
      rising

into the air
  where the bees,
    their bodies
      heavy with pollen,

hovered—
  and easily
    she adored
      every blossom,

not in the serious,
  careful way
    that we choose
      this blossom or that blossom—

the way we praise or don’t praise—
  the way we love
    or don’t love—
      but the way

we long to be—
  that happy
    in the heaven of earth—
      that wild, that loving.


Run in Peace in your new heaven, Ara dog, 
gentle friend and companion, 
family member, just six years old.



9 comments:

  1. indiscriminate:) and well for it.

    I didn't know this poem. I am happy to have met it.

    xo
    erin

    ReplyDelete
  2. So sorry to hear about Ara. Nothing is worse than the passing of a beloved family pet/member. The poem reminds us, however, of how much we learn from dogs, even when their lives are brief.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, George. It is hard. Andrea was finally not working, preparing for the arrival of her baby, and home with Ara for the first time. All was so good—a new house, with a big back yard, fenced in, where Ara could explore in her heaven. She was young, but she must have had a brain tumor or something, for she had seizures all night, and they had to put her down. We are grieving over the sweetest being, such a dear companion.

      Delete
  3. Yes, I am saddened to hear of the loss of your dear dog-friend, so young! It leaves such an impact, I know... I love the line: "...but the way we long to be - that happy in the heaven of earth, that wild, that loving..." What lessons we receive from our beloved pets... Peace to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Christine. Your comforting words are welcome. I can't believe she is gone, the best dog I've known. They offer us something humans can't.

      Delete
  4. In thinking about the youth of Ara, she reminds me of how often we lose "the best" when they are still young. To think one's life can be "finished" and "well-done" by then is quite sobbering....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tous les amoureux des animaux de compagnie peuvent se retrouver dans ce beau poeme
    the way we praise or don’t praise—
    the way we love
    or don’t love—
    but the way

    we long to be—
    that happy
    in the heaven of earth—
    that wild, that loving.
    Merci

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm grateful for this poem. Pets teach us so much and become such a part of our families. I see them as grace and blessing, as this poem describes. We still cherish the memories and retell the stories of our dogs' lives with them long gone. The photo of Ara with James is dear.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome. If you would like to say something, rest assured that I will respond in my self, even if I do not respond in word.