To Zoe

The love of my life,
     Zoe, beautiful black Lab;
Exceptional girl,
     More full of life, more divine
     Than anyone I have known.

No one else knew you,
     As Moses and I knew you.
You were his mother,
     And my soul’s true companion 
     More than any I have known.

You had more courage,
     More strong determination, 
More self-confidence
     Than any human being
     I’ve ever known in this world.

You ruled by your love
     And by intense faithfulness.
You whom I named Life,
     In Greek, Zoé, not bios,
     But true, noble, divine Life.

I can’t imagine
     That any being is alive
Beyond death’s assault 
     If you are not forever
     Alive in true, divine Life.

Zoe a goddess,
     A creature overflowing 
With divinity;
     Hidden to human self-love,
     To true love most visible .

I love you, Zoe,
     Now and forever, unless
Death kills all loving
     Making our lives meaningless
     And having no fulfillment. 

You brought God to me
     Daily in devoted love,
Most gentle woman,
     Carrier of Jesus Christ
     To one who received your love.

Lord Byron was right:
     How arrogant of Christians
To think only we--
     We alone go into God,
     Soulless animals perish.

Animals have souls,
     Or why are they named for them?
Anima means soul,
     And humans attuned to God
     Recognize his real presence.

Not only in hosts,
     Not only in priests and books,
But in real beings,
     Animals alive with God
     Often far more than we are.


28 January 2020   6th anniversary of Zoe’s death