With the shock of travel troubles and a judgement call on my trip even I still can't believe! I am in the process of healing my mourning regarding a visit to the Sanctuary that never happened. I wish you all well during Donkey Week, a sincere love to all. They say that poets and artists do their best work when tortured by life's circumstances, overreacting to what befalls them, but I for one, never believed in this. I'll be back, but with Donkey steps....here is the first one:

Weaving a Garden of Donkeys

In my garden of Donkeys
A tapestry of life unfolds
Like each petal of a flower
Some opening young, some closing old,
Each Donkey unique as a thread
That links lore, love, wisdom and respect.
My steps like a ghost
Like an imaginary track
As I walk through this garden
Trying not to look back.
My soul is mordant
In an unremarkable way
The Donkeys in my garden
Appear so quietly unchanged.
But I have been plucked
And immediately removed,
Washed out by rain
Or is it tears, yet again?
There is my waiting Donkey!
One glimpse left of the field
Looking once more on the day
Telling my soul not to yield.
A million ears of courage!
And I lacked a belief
In my self and the sky
As I watched my dream and my garden
Falter and die.
Well drained I am now
Naught to do but fill up
Plant new seeds and with hope
Perhaps not to be born
In this year's conditions,
My Donkey ideals - my friends of the heart
I'll gather them gently and start
Each day as they open.
I'll store them away
In a tightly sealed spirit
A dark place where they're safe
To retain their effectiveness.
You can be any way
You wish to be in my garden of Donkeys,
A sure gentle eye you'll receive
A touch of fur, a smile, a token
That understanding they give
That one heart may be broken.
I'll need to discard and replace
Disappointment and doubt
Knowing one day I'll step steadfast
Weaving with Donkey threads
My tapestry garden,
No struggle or strife!
Blooming in all manner of storms
A bouquet of Donkey dreams come true
For every season of life.
And I'll think to myself
Life is as good as it gets,
It's just not with
All my Donkeys of Devon
Not a reality...yet.