Lullaby for Zachary and Bambi

Check out Alex Shapiro's pic and comments this morning on her blog site, NOTES FROM THE KELP. I did.

Lullaby for Zachary and Bambi

Alex has more visitors
appearing boldly
beneath her window,
interrupting her work ethic,
redirecting her focus,
as a doe with its spring fawn
stood like statues
with twitching ears
and the softest of eyes.

A few minutes
of a lullaby
for Zachary
also is dedicated
to the tiny spotted imp
with Bambi’s grin,
and we listen to it
as we peer into the lens
and the heart
of the Shapiro Wildlife Sanctuary;
a lilting lullaby
that would make even the jaded
reach for pajamas,
soft blue blanket
and the one-eared Pooh Bear,
but it was more
than saccharine
and notes of syrup;
something resonating,
probing deep into our emotions.

What I witnessed
this morning
while listening,
were bold white letters,
the end credits
of some terrifically sentimental movie—
and as the credits rolled,
there were children’s faces;
refugees,
orphans,
spawn of the streets,
the kids of the dump villages
in Mexico, India, Africa, and Louisiana—
eyes full of hope
and longing,
with little smiles still
genuine—
morphing into baby critters
of all kinds,
with late spring flowers splashing
the background;
fawns of many colors and types,
puppies of every breed,
kittens,
domestic and wild,
small and large,
cubs
of wolves, foxes, and bear—
even pachyderms, gorillas, and giraffes;
all
so cute,
so precious that
our old eyes brimmed with tears
of joy, delight, and hope
for the future,
springing and welling up
eternal—
and for a small moment
with Alex’s music
still ringing in our innerness,
then gently fading,
like a long echo,
we enjoyed
a marvelously naked shard
of vulnerability—
until the silence
that followed
broke over us like the raging waters
of a dirty flood,
carrying with it
the onerous weight
of our lives, our reality.

Thank you, Alex,
for our temporary respite;
our weightless
flight.

Glenn Buttkus June 2008