Originally written in July of 2015. Revised 2020.
My friend, the squirrel, sits at my feet.
I wonder perhaps should I be sitting at his.
He is tame
Unlike me.
I have peanuts for him.
He knows.
He is willing to wait
And teach me
All the lessons he knows
Of a heart
That is wild
Yet tame.
I marvel at all
That is contained
Within his tiny heart.
The joys of peanuts and sunflower seeds,
Being unafraid in the face of strangers,
And making friends so easily,
Of finding a home among things lush and green,
Knowing no fear to leap
Into things unknown.
Will he instruct me
In the ways to live once again
And move on?
Tell me to remove these rings
Linked to a grief buried beneath grey granite?
Can he share with me the lesson
Of what to do with all things circular,
New and old grief– link upon link of chain?
Teach me the ways of letting go?
The ways of living without fears
To staunch the bleeding of wounds
Both new and so very old?
Is this the meaning
Of being wild and tamed?
Hearing The Mermaids Sing 
You and that squirrel explore a lot of ground in this poem, but summarized really, in that last line, that old conundrum of being… two things at once.
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Yes, every morning for 12 days, the squirrel and I chatted and covered intensive variety of subjects until one morning when he decided to jump on my head and sit for a bit.
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M.A.
I love how this poem begins, with simple short lines mirroring the presumed simplicity of the squirrel’s thinking and yet the tame peace he offers, and then how the lines lengthen as you deepen the emotional resonance of the poem, diving into your grief.
Sorry if that doesnt make enough sense… I am a little pre-coffee at this point!
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Makes perfect sense. And something that happened naturally as Mr. Squirrel and I had many conversations during those ten days.
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Squirrel’s are thoughtful fellows… lol
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