LOVE ON FOUR LEGS by Tracie Nichols

Last summer, we lost a four-legged family member quite suddenly and unexpectedly...

In the morning it was breakfast and out the door as usual. Within 24 hours we were making the decision to stop prolonging his life. He was young. He was healthy. Something mysterious happened, and suddenly he was mortally injured.

I work from home. My husband and children are out of the house all day at work and school, so I was the one there all the time. Elrond’s rhythms and mine were inextricably interwoven.

In the aftermath of the chaos and crisis of his injury and death, I needed a way to make sense of it all. I needed to know why he’d graced my life. So, I wrote. I followed the tumble of these words and began to understand who he was, why he was here, and how much he’d taught me.

Love On Four Legs

(for Elrond: 2006 - June 25, 2014)

by Tracie Nichols

You were wise

from the beginning

you know.

Winning

hearts

happy laughs

spirits

of my children

before head-butting me

(You were just a child, too.)

Claiming

(as you were meant to)

a permanent place

in our Place

Slipping into

our family ecosystem

as if you were born for it.

You couldn’t have fit more clearly.

And, yet…

you expanded us.

Every heart

in our small family

pulsed bigger, wider, deeper

for love of you.

And you…

you wore your

“cat-ness”

well.

But I know,

I know

you were a master teacher

a furry Bodhisattva

love on four legs

sent to remind us

that we are the same

in our own ways.

You mended

my heart

and broke it open

again

One more lesson

as you left fur

and four legs

behind.

I know you’re there,

and here,

all at once.

And your presence

will always

make me smile.

But I miss

your sweet, soft, belly fur

and that impossibly tiny

“meow” when you’d waited

long enough for me to

realize you wanted

to go out.

And here I am

with the paradox

of a heart both broken

and mended

of a life both

full and

achingly empty

willing

so, so willing

to do it all again

because of you.

Tracie Nichols has written poetry since she was 11 years old. While most of her early works are gone (this is probably a good thing) she continues to scribble poems at odd hours about everything from the state of her soul to the sounds of her kitchen. In truth, though, her poetic heart belongs to the deep green places of our wildly, fiercely, sacred, earth. When she isn’t making poetry with words she’s listening to the whispers of the green world, making alchemy with plants and stones and moonlight wildness. Tracie blogs, shares resources and generally nurtures at her website here. Connect with her also on Twitter or Facebook. 

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~