Animal Nature

                      (for Matthew)

Just watch a dog some night, at changing season -
Dusk, the halfling, fading of the light. We
Know they dream. Their memory is legendary.
They see, feel and (arguably) reason,
Show delight and peace and pride of place,
Experience loss as keenly as you or I.

We say they "ape" us, - providing a dumb show,
Playing for us some playfully imagined role;
Reflecting, it seems at times, our very soul -
That part we see set off from what's below;
Eternal, at one with all that truly is. But
What if, at the very end of time,

When all the tale is said and done, we find:
They were the lords and masters of intent -
Brave, bold, caring, Heaven-sent,
A tiny parcel of Creation's mind,
The proud imaginings of Nature's shoals -
And we, the bare reflections of their souls?

Louis Lopardi

5/31/05-06