Honey Come Monday

Blades wave high in the barely lit day.  I look to the horizon.  Blue waters crash on my shore, this is my home.  I roam.  The air blows heavy here.  There is no stillness, not in the ways of my earth.  This harbor rocks and smashes against the flat land.  It expands wide open to match the movement which met its mouth.  The grass bends flat making way for my foot and the bristly bush rustles at my ear.  I like it here.

I am the color of amber.  I say I am like that- a trapped, smoldered fire hidden within a still, compliant rock.  My passion lies dormant.  It is shown only when smashed.  It is what keeps me.  When my body aches or my spirit sags this is what I rely on.  No one knows me yet.

I have this home and share it.  But, they don't see me.  My brother walks two steps ahead.  His taller shoulder above my head.  I follow him for now.  He is young, still learning his ways.  Younger than I is my brother, so I watch out for him from behind.  His black coat absorbs the sunlight.  I watch that happen.  His energy is boundless so I use my smolder.  I tap my trapped fire.  

The people say they own me.  I do not argue.  I need their love and wish for a home in their arms even more than on this land.  But, they do not see me.  They look past my eyes as I search for understanding.  They keep walking.  I try not to cry.  I hear from the trees that this is their way.  The owls say they often see nothing in truth.  

The owl says his wisdom is ancient.  He says it is known far and wide that the owl can see all.  So, I asked the owl, "What do you see here?  Tell what you see for me."

He looked at me, glaring down from the high branch.  I froze, captured in his vision.  He looked at me and I felt he really saw me.  I felt he might be the one who knew me.

"Do you know me, owl?  Is it you?"

This is what he said to me.  "The people, they call you Honey?"

"Yes." I said.  "They say I'm sweet and that I look like the honey from a bee."

"But you, Honey, you can see more than they.  So, believe what you see in yourself.  And do not rely on their words.  Blindness falls on man.  Temptation takes hold.  They cut the tree and burn the land and all they do it for is gold.  What they do not see is truth.  They do not recognize value."

"I see."  I said, looking back into the bright yellow eyes of the owl.

"This time here for you is short.  You must say goodbye soon.  Honey, come Monday, they want you no more.  Do not be so sad.  I fly to the tree that stands by you.  They all are my home.  And when you wish for my words again, cry to me in the light of the moon.  I will speak to you."

I turn away.  I look back at my horizon, where forest breaks way and the flat land meets the water wave and the sky above.  My tears roll and dampen my paw that stands upon my dirt.  They do not see me.  They do not know my worth.

"Please," I said to the above, "give me love." 

I didn't see my brother with black coat for hours in the day.  I had so much to mourn and all he wants to do is play.  I kept to myself, making a bed by my favorite spot.  I thought, "They cannot take me away if they cannot find me.  They only feed my anyway.  My fur is matted and my skin hurts from stuck sand spurs.  They do not hold me.  They do not own me."

It is the next day and I walk to the tall tree and cry out high.  

Owl peeks out at me and says to come back at night.

I wait and worry and again creep through the long grass to the woods and sit by the tall tree.  The moon is bright and I see owl is waiting on me.  

"What is your question, little one?"

"What is the day, owl?  How long do I have?"

Not long at all.  Sunday has come and gone.  Honey, come sun up, they're putting you in the truck."

"No!" I screamed.  "I don't have anywhere else to go.  They might not love me here, but this is all I know."

"The Earth is generous, Honey, and it has much to give.  Look at this as a gift.  You will see another horizon.  You are growing from this."

I turned and ran as fast as I could.  

I cleared the woods and crossed the meadow and came to the water's edge.  

I looked down into the harbor to see my own reflection.  

Tear drops wrinkle the water, but I can still see.  "Do I have the courage?" I wonder.  "Do I have the energy? Will my smolder suffer and give me nothing in return?"  I look at my coat of fur and small fluffy ears.  My brown eyes have lost a lot of twinkle over my few years.  I lick my black nose wet from watering eyes and my purple tongue gives me my first clue.  I am not a bought dog like brother.  I'm a mixture of breeds and don't know from where I come.  This must be why I'm so easy to get rid of.

I sank down low and put my chin to the ground.  

I fell asleep with no passion in my heart.  

I wondered if I'd lost my spark. 

Day break.  My heart aches.

They scoop me up and I can't resist.  This one who took me was a stranger.  My people are nowhere I can see.  They didn't even say goodbye to me.  The stranger has soft hands and says to me that I should have time to say goodbye to my brother.  So, I watch the sun shine on his black coat one last time and I kiss him on the nose.  He kisses me back.  I walk back to the strange man with my head hanging low.  I let him take me from my home.

The journey is not so bad.  This stranger spoke to me.  He spoke to me like the owl in the tree.  I sit beside him in his truck and he looks me in the eye.  

He said, "I don't know why they would give you up.  But, with me you're safe and with me you're loved."  I froze in his vision.  It seemed to me I was seen.

"Is it you?" I thought.  "Are you the one who sees me?"

The strange man puts his hand on me.  He rubs my head between my ears and in his hand is the energy I lacked.  In his hand is my clue. My spirit's smolder is back again, here to keep me warm.  I don't know what land I will have to roam but I know with this man I have a home.  

I thought of the owl high in the tree and wondered if he could see me.  

Then his words came to me.  

"I see all, Honey from a bee.  I am the wisdom your soul seeks.  I will be here every night you need me."

I sigh with relief.  My land I know I will miss but this new spot is becoming a good fit.  When the strange man told me his name he spoke to me like I could hear him and understand his words.  I wished I could say I understood, so I licked his hand and sensed he knew.  

I cross the threshold for the first time without receiving a scold.  I am taken into a real home.  I see candlelight and carpet and am allowed around on my own.  I smell my way through the place, I realize I am completely safe.  

"Owl in the tree, I see you from the window.  I can come in or out and I can roam all about.  I have more than I had before."

The owl's eyes brightened and I could see them through the night.  

His words he spoke with all his might.

"I know.  I see.  I see.  You may be sad at what you've lost and that's okay.  But, it won't take you long to realize what you have gained."

I push my paws from the window sill and walk to the door of the room where the family sat.  I turn back.

"Owl, I  have looked and looked for the one who might see me.  I saw myself in the harbor water and my face wasn't happy.  Then, someone picked me up and took me far away.  And now I see what I have and what I had before.  The difference is a family."

Owl's eyes blinked and his head nodded in agreement. 

 "It is easy to be seen once you learn yourself to see."

I smile at owl, my friend so wise and old.  

I turn and cross the threshold.