Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

Though I cherish
the quiet I have earned,
there are days I miss
the whisper of animals
all around me

Youthful energy
bounding in,
I’m easy to please
I’m easy to forgive

Nervous purr, saying
Do what you must,
just be quick
just be gentle

Next come the sick
cradled in worried arms –
such a clamor of voices,
and love that fills the room

I must listen carefully
as hands move head to tail
in practiced form,
searching for hidden clues,
searching for how to heal

But most of all, I miss
the old and infirm
who speak to me
in quiet tones
of all their frailties

Then lay their
weary heads in my lap
telling me,
It’s time
to go home

All the whispers I have heard
All the animals I have known