“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
Will Rogers

It stretches and arcs
Before me
In every shade and hue
Ever created,
Sparkling,
Shimmering,
Musical.
On this side
There has been beauty
And some joy
But there was also
Pain
And loss...
Ugliness sometimes
Inconceivable.
On this side
Was life
With its betrayals
And desolations,
A hodgepodge
Of good and bad.
Across the shimming
Arc of color
I see a different life.
I see trees
And grasses,
Flowers
And flowing streams.
I can hear birds
And see ungulates
Lying peacefully
Alongside
Their once predatory
Foes.
I feel myself being called,
Being drawn forward,
Yet I hesitate.
Am I certain of this?
Is this not a place
For those creatures
That had lived their lives
Innocently,
True only to
Their given natures
And unsullied by
Greed and self-centeredness?
“Go!”
A voice seems to say
Behind me,
“Come!”
Voices call from before.
Finally, I heed both voices
And take a step,
Then another.
My bare feet
Are soon encased
In a cloud
Of shimmering color,
A gentle summer breeze
Encircles me,
Encouraging me.
I take another step,
Then another,
My strides lengthening
As joy begins to fill me!
Half way across
Other animals appear,
Dogs, cats,
Horses, parakeets,
Animals I recognize
For I had loved them all.
They wait impatiently
As I make my way
To them.
“Hurry!”
They seem to be saying
Though I can hear no sound
Other than barks and meows,
Neighs and chirps.
Then other animals appear,
A whole confederation of
Creatures that wait
At a respectable distance,
Allowing me
And the joyful group awaiting me
Our moments of reunion;
And suddenly I am there and
A small, tri-color dog
Breaks from the group,
Barking happily
As she runs to me
On her short legs with her
Long, silky, pendent ears
Flying from about her head.
“Molly!” I cry
As I stoop to lift her
And find my face baptized
With happy, doggy kisses
Until we are overwhelmed
With the welcomes
Of Copper and Maybelle,
Monroe, Lassie, Feather,
and Squirt,
And every dear and precious
Pet I've ever loved,
All there to welcome
Me as I made my own trek
Across the Rainbow Bridge.
Then, as I sit on
The soft, green grass,
I remember the other animals,
Those who had not shared
In my life
Yet who are also
Obviously waiting
For me.
I look at them
And my happy
Welcoming committee
Subsides respectfully
As I rise to my feet.
“Who are you?”
I want to know.
A great gray owl
Rides forward
On the back of a
Grizzly
And answers,
“We are the ones
Whose lives you spared,
Whose existence
You honored,
Who guided you
In your dreams.”
Then the great bear adds,
“We are the ones
Who listened,
Watched,
And discussed,
And finally judged
Your treatment of us
While we walked in life.”
A porcupine waddles forward
And I smile,
For I recognize it
As one that once frightened me
On a camping trip.
“You are welcome, sister,”
I hear it say,
“Welcome here to remain
Among us.”
“Am I the only one like me?”
I ask,
And the bear shakes its broad head.
“No, there are others like you,
Who loved and respected
All creatures
Whatever our natures may have been.”
“But I killed some of you,” I protest,
“What about the spiders and ants,
The roaches, and the baby birds
I once plucked from their nests?”
“You are forgiven by them all,”
The owl assures me,
“For they know in your heart
You held no true malice.”
A beautiful blue roan equine head
Leans over my shoulder.
“You are home now,”
Feather says telepathically
As she snuffles my ear
Just as she had
In the old days,
Before I am once again
Overwhelmed and pulled
Gently down to
Wallow on the soft green grass
With the creatures who
Had loved me most,
All of my good qualities,
As well as my not-so-good,
Who knew me
In my entirety,
Yet still loved me
Unconditionally.

c. 2024