Soul Taps

“One touch of nature

Makes the whole world kin.”

                    William Shakespeare

It had been a very long winter’s day

I had been busily shoveling snow

So I finally eased myself into my recliner

Basking in the hearth’s warm therapeutic glow

I was extremely worn out and achy

So I soon decided to take a snooze

And I must have fallen fast asleep

While watching the evening news

Several hours later I awakened

To a very muted tapping sound

I glanced all about the darkened room

But nothing out of the ordinary was found

Eventually I peered out my window

The sky was brightening just before dawn

And what should I see standing out there

But an extremely tiny shivering fawn

It was gently tapping on my window

It must have been lost and afraid

So I rushed out and brought it in

And by the fireplace some blankets I laid

Then I headed off through the snow

Retracing its tracks the best I could

Eventually I found its dead mother

By the edge of the road near the woods

I knew this fawn’s odds of survival

Were now bleak and far too few

I loaded her and my two dogs in my truck

And rushed off towards a distant wildlife rescue

As I sped down the slick snow covered road

With my tiny dog next to me in the front seat

My massive black mutt who befriends all creatures

Had wrapped himself around the shivering fawn’s feet

He was gallantly keeping her warm

He would never have left her alone

But suddenly from the dark back seat

I heard my dog begin to whine and moan

I sadly pulled over to the side of the road

My heart and soul now filled with dread

I knew what I would find in the back seat

The starving sick little fawn was dead

I silently and sadly drove into the woods

And dug a small grave under the tall pines

As my frigid tear drops fell on the tiny mound of dirt

My two compassionate dogs moaned and whined

The three of us drove home in silence that morn

That tiny fawn had tapped into all of our souls

We had all truly wished that she had made it

And had been given a fighting chance to grow old

Nature will always remain a mystery to me

And although I’m often powerless I still try

I will never forget that tiny tapping in my soul

From a tiny innocent creature that died