Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘birds’

Veterinary Nurses

This past week my husband and I have been veterinary nurses for our older (about 13 years old) cat Josie. The vets diagnosed her with rhinitis, sinusitis, and gastritis. Yikes! I can’t figure our how she got the infections; she’s an indoor cat living with one other indoor car and my husband and me.

The whole week has been a great exercise in patience: giving the cat pills (4 to 5 a day), feeding her liquified cat food through a syringe (3 to 5 times a day), and cleaning up the ugly messes she makes at her water bowl. She was drooling a lot and her eyes and nose were a mess.

My husband is an angel in the patience department. He has gotten several scratches. I was ready to give up half way through the week, and he said, “Why are you so negative?”

One can debate about how much time and money to spend on a pet, but as long as there’s reasonable hope of recovery, which the vet thinks there is, we can keep going, unless it interferes with higher concerns (grandkids, etc.). Of course, we are retired so we have the time, but even before this, I don’t know if I’ve ever had so many physical tasks (the vegetable garden, for one, and except maybe when the kids were young) in my life. I suppose that the one time we had a renter living with us was also a lot of work.


God does care about animals. Were not many of them saved on Noah’s ark? But humans have priority.

“For every animal of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. (Psalm 50:10-12)

“Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many animals?” (Jonah 4:11)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

‘Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?”’ (Luke 14:5)


About ten days after the first symptoms, Josie is starting to eat on her own again. The extra care is paying off! We’ll keep it up.

Every Place

Every place

Has its ups and downs —

The smiles and the frowns,

The spooks and the clowns,

Disgraces or crowns.

You’ll find

Snakes or bugs,

Scorpions or slugs,

Crows or eagles,

Mosquitos or seagulls.

Every place

Has climate and weather,

The storms and the thunder,

Hurricanes or earthquakes,

Humidity or drought.

Every place

Has interesting neighbors

Who do you kind favors,

They help with their labors,

And pick up your papers.

Every place

Has frowning faces —

Won’t give you the time,

To judgment inclined,

Won’t lend you a dime.

Every place

Has pleasures and dangers —

Or are they both one?

Pleasure can be danger

If overdone.

Every life

Has its moments

Of goodness and closeness,

Of fear or of faith,

Of love or of hate.

O Lord,

Give me hope,

So with life I can cope —

To keep a deep peace

As my faith You increase.

The Wildflowers Still Bloom

[Written in response to /protest against the Charlottesville, Virginia, madness.]

The wildflowers still bloom
No matter what your religion is,
What color your skin is,
How much money you have,
Or what neighborhood you live in.

The trees don’t ask,
“Shall I give my shade
Only to certain people —
Those of a certain color,
Those who are rich?”

The mountains still stand
When the poor walk on them,
When the oppressed tread their paths.

The ocean waves
Go in and out
Whether the children splashing in them
Are educated or not.

The birds don’t sing
Only for the perfect —
Perfectly healthy,
Perfectly formed
In mind and body.

The sun shines
And the rain falls
On the just and the unjust.

Shall I withhold my love
From another
For any reason?

God does not.
He sends the rain and the sun
On all peoples.
He gives the beauty of His creation
To each person, each day.

Let me learn from Him.

Spring Emerging

Bird songs billowing from the hedges,
From meadows, grasses, trees and sedges.
Twitter, toot, and hoot, and tweet,
Their song and melody so sweet.

Flowers timid peep from ground;
Will the warmth still be around?
Frogs in creeks at night do croak,
Parents take walks with little folk.

The sun can warm us as we walk,
But clouds are good to cool us off.
Still a chill in morning air,
But new life battles all our cares.