Sabbatical Poetry - "All this Beast Wants"

All this Beast Wants

All this beast wants is adventure, snuggles, a nap, and treats,

and not necessarily in that order.

All this beast really wants is to be where I am,

to do what I am doing.

All this beast wants is to love me, doing so professionally;

not a job ... more like a calling.

Following so close behind I wonder where she is, and when I see her ahead she glances back grinning.

I wonder who is caring for who?

You found us in our darkest days,

you needed a home and ours needed restoring.

Chaos had bludgeoned our home,

but you redeemed the word chaos, christening our doorways with dirty paws and exuberant kisses ...

And who is caring for who?

The God of heaven and earth gives us much to love and much to be loved by,

but even some mothers of the earth have abandoned the call to abide in their young.

But not the dog. Not you.

Many have written about your loyal heart.

Drawn to humans out of the woods and your wolfish ancestry,

waiting by the dump for the leftovers.

If your motivation is treats, you are a mastermind.

But if your motivation is love, then you may be closer to Christ than us.

Maybe we should follow your example ...

All this beast wants is a lifetime of adventure, snuggles, naps, and treats,

and through it all I will follow the one I love, loving you Lord with all my professions.

And at the end of the day and days,

ones full and empty of joy and triumph and pain and regret ...

All this beast wants is to be greeted by one with a love like Jesus.

One with a wide welcoming grin, who carries no thought of the day's misdeeds, only joy and wet kisses that wash away the chaos.

That is all this beast wants.