1. Read the poem 

  2. Do your own reflection on it, noting what it inspires in you

  3. Feel free to use your own reflection as your prompt or…

  4. Use the selection of prompts below the poem

  5. Pick one that inspires you and write (feel free to use only one or write several poems using different prompts) or…

  6. Don’t use any of the provided prompts and follow your inspiration from wherever it comes

Land locked In Fur

I was meditating with my cat the other day 
and all of a sudden she shouted,        
“What happened?“

I knew exactly what she meant, but encouraged 
her to  say more – feeling that if she got it all out on the table 
she would sleep better that night. 

So I responded, “Tell me more, dear,“ 
and she soulfully meowed,

“Well, I was mingled with the sky. I was comets 
whizzing here and there. I was suns in heat, hell – 
I was galaxies. But now look –I am landlocked in fur.

To this I said,
“I know exactly what you mean.“

Tukaram; Translated by Danile Ladinsky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tukaram

A Rabbit Noticed My Condition

I was sad one day and went for a walk; 
I sat in a field. 

A rabbit noticed my condition and 
came near.

It does not take more than that to help at times—

to just be close to creatures who 
are so full of knowing, 
so full of love 
that they don’t
— chat, 

they just gaze with 
their 
marvelous understanding.

Saint John of the Cross; Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_the_Cross

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March 12, 2021 at 4:00 PM PST

My Thoughts

I often say that we are students of life and teachers to each other. As teachers to each other, we gain knowledge. As students of life, we gain wisdom. One great source of wisdom comes from animals, which is why I love these two short poems, each about a moment of clarity received from an animal. 

The Indian mystic poet, Tukaram, “dialogues” with a cat, who serves as a mouthpiece for expressing the limitations of a spirit (the self) in a body.  We have all had that yearning to be so free that we could sail among the stars. The Christian mystic, St. John of the Cross expresses the beautiful healing property of the animal mind, a healing that can only be conveyed through the power of an embodied gaze free of language.

My cat, Yuna (whom I creatively and affectionately call “Kitty”), is an indoor cat and I am the only other living being in the house. Consequently, there are many times when she will look studiously at me with a gaze of striking purity and intentionality. Her attention seems completely focused on me and it often feels like an act of pure love. Pure love because of the complete devotion of the gaze without any hint of demand or judgment in it.

At the right moment, that gaze of “marvelous understanding” can melt my worries or level my dissatisfactions and restore me to the simple beauty of breath and being in her companionship. In what way has an animal touched you by its presence? What moment of clarity has an animal brought you in your life? 

Prompt Menu

  1. Describe a moment of clarity that came to you from aa encounter with an animal.

  2. Pick a pet or an animal and imagine having a dialogue with it. As a bonus, if possible, go outside and find an animal to commune with for a while as a study for the writing.

  3. My cat wil occasionally twitch and jerk as she sleeps in my lap. I assume she is dreaming. Imagine your pet, or any animal you choose, and write a poem about animal dreams.

  4. Let an animal share its secret widsom or insight with you. Or pick a series of animals and describe the differing wisdom each one might offer (dolphins for play, squirrels for future planning, etc.)

  5. Use Tukaram’s cat insight: In what way are you land locked in your body? What does that mean to you? What are the benefits and limitations of being land locked?

  6. Think of a time when you were sad (or in need) and somebody, an animal or a person, noticed your condition and provided some kind of help. Write about that moment.

  7. What creature(s) (real or fictional) would you say are so full of knowing and so full of love that it goes beyond words?

  8. Describe an animal’s gaze and what might be conveyed through it.

  9. As always, you can write from something else that inspires you in the poem or from anywhere else in life.