Safety

I just donated dog beds no longer needed by my friend’s dog who died. The beds are in good shape and ready to be slept on by living dogs.

This is a normal happening, beings passing through using beds while here.

I notice a lot of people have emotional support animals. The animals are calm and grounding for their person. I am one of those for my dog. I am her emotional support animal. For me, I have a cat, when he is available.

I need emotional support because of the latest war, Russia attacking Ukraine. I feel safe now. There is no bombing where I live. Yet I feel deeply sad and troubled. I want to take in all the refuges, to give shelter.

Yesterday, I went to brunch. The war didn’t come up in conversation. Then I danced for a couple hours where it also didn’t come up.

I wondered if it was still happening.

The next morning there was a poem response in my email from my neighbor. Getting up and reading her poem was like hearing a delayed echo answer to my feelings. It was sympathetic to Ukraine. It was anti-war.

“Poems arrive ready to begin. Poets are only the transportation.” – Mary Oliver.

War requires people to believe and swallow a backward cyclone of disjointed reasons to become a swarm of angry hornets looking for a release, anywhere to land stings, to discharge the venom out of their own bodies.

I watched a man last week, a block away, throw knives and shoot arrows into the general direction of his carport while blaring Rolling Stones in his driveway. He yelled “start me up!” while he jumped about and flung knives. I walked fast to get by him. I hope he got everything out of his system.