This poem was inspired by two books that I have read recently (and highly recommend!). The first is entitled "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle. The second is entitled, "The Lore of the Unicorn" by Odell Shephard. In the book by Mr. Beagle the Unicorn appears only as an ordinary mare to human eyes that cannot truly see its beauty. In "The Lore", the legend has it that Unicorns were really Onegars! The Central Asian (fast running) donkey. I see many qualities of the mystical Unicorn in "ordinary donkeys". Don't you?

A Traveler's Gift

So what do I really know about Donkeys?
I stumble through words and phrases
Certainly not with the real and sure
Steps that are planted on Sanctuary ground
No, I am sustained by their footprints of
Expertise, patience and love.
The Donkeys I write about
Are like traveler's on my road
Bringing me gifts from the hidden ones.
They stay awhile, then they depart
Quietly and invisibly
These humble guardians of beauty.
The soul is a vast landscape
And Donkeys walk and graze
Shifting my response to Life
And to the Spirit.
I know about Donkeys
As much or as little
As a painter knows his palette
Or the wind knows a garden.
I've felt a heavy head in my lap
And I've glimpsed the last Unicorn
In the corner and blink of my eye.