WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Welcome to the New American Digest: 2003-2020
He thought he kept the universe alone;
For all the voice in answer he could wake
Was but the mocking echo of his own
From some tree-hidden cliff across the lake.
Some morning from the boulder-broken beach
He would cry out on life, that what it wants
Is not its own love back in copy speech,
But counter-love, original response.
And nothing ever came of what he cried
Unless it was the embodiment that crashed
In the cliff’s talus on the other side,
And then in the far distant water splashed,
But after a time allowed for it to swim,
Instead of proving human when it neared
And someone else additional to him,
As a great buck it powerfully appeared,
Pushing the crumpled water up ahead,
And landed pouring like a waterfall,
And stumbled through the rocks with horny tread,
And forced the underbrush–and that was all.
Gerard Van der Leun
When all Earth’s seas shall Levitate,
Dark shawled within the skies,
Upon our eyes will Starfish dance
Their waltz of Blind surprise.
The sun will Rise within wine Dark
As Argonauts imbibed,
Whose drunken arms embrace that sleep
Where Phaeton’s horses Stride.
Upon all of Earth’s wind-sanded shores,
As dolphins Learn to soar,
All we once were on the land
Shall be sealed behind the door
Of Ivory and Chastened Gold,
That the Mystery solved complete
Shall never til the seas’ Long fall
Wake mariners from their sleep.
— Van der Leun
I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this
air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their
parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
— Walt Whitman
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
— The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot
Comments on this entry are closed.
How does it end? About 2/3 through I got something in my eye.
What every deployed person with a dog feels like when Mom’s front door opens.
-Seen it. As he said. “Home is heaven when you’re out.”
Man, I hope so. See you soon, Nikki.
I think so. See you soon, Cody Boy >3
I guess I’ll be getting there in a little while. Getting near on to 80 now. Got me to thinking about the dogs in my life. I lose count after about 15 or so. If the video is real, and I sure hope it is, It’s going to be a big party.
At the final judgement and resurrection, the Saints, in their physical bodies, will repopulate a reconstructed Eden, an actual, physical, purified Earth. The new Eden will contain all plants and animals of the old one, even dinosaursk, and you get your old dogs and cats back.
At least that was the original Christian belief. Somehow it has been replaced by a purely spiritual Heaven, which of course would have no place for animals without souls.
Bob,
All good things come from Him. It would be completely reasonable to be with all that we loved.
I have not considered it prior, but it would be great to see Cinnamon, our perfect German Sheppard.
The deceased that we will be reunited with will be those that we had a true love for or deep emotional connection. Emotion seems to be the key to this reunion. Animals and people will be there. Many relationships will not be revisited as there is no real connection, including so called love relationships, marriages, etc. There won’t be a lot of teeth gnashing over events on planet earth, good or bad. It will seem as if we got off a train at the wrong location, fooled around for a while, and got back on to go home.
When my youngest was around 7 years old, I had to console her, because her Sunday school teacher had assured all the children that there would be no reuniting with pets in Heaven, because pets have no souls. She cried herself into quite an inconsolable puddle in my arms. I assured her that pets do wait for us in Heaven. I explained that if God had created all the creatures of the earth and provides for even the little sparrows in the fields, as we are told He does in the Bible, then He would certainly have our dear departed pets waiting for us there. I believe that Hell will have a special room for those adults who take perverse pleasure in smashing out the light of life and joy in children’s souls. Recently, my elderly mom has found great comfort in talking about departed family, friends, and pets that she will soon be reunited with. Our pets are glimpses of pure Heavenly love here on earth. They are my little angels that have taught me many of life’s lessons.
I cannot imagine Heaven without the animals who lived here along with us. I’ve known a lot of great dogs and especially a lot of great horses in my life and I have this idea that if I get there I’d like the Lord to come riding up with my beloved grand parents, all on our old ranch horses and put me right back with my beloved old buckskin mustang cowpony, Roy.
I have four cats already waiting for me in the heavenly stadium reserved for all NL fans: two Phillies cats, a Mets kitty, and the Pirates Queen. A number of theologians from Martin Luther to Helmut Thielicke to C.S. Lewis believed that humans will meet their pets again in heaven; FWIW, three of the four Doctors of the Latin Church (Ambrose, Jerome, and Gregory the Great) are known to have had pet cats. To h-ll with ignorant Sunday School teachers; the ones I had as a kid were much better than the one Annie Rose mentioned. One of them had the wisdom to say that if Jesus didn’t love animals, why did John the Baptist point to Him (John 1:29) as the Lamb of God?
Last week Sarah Hoyt posted an account of the passing of her cat Greebo, titled “They’re Serving Tuna in Valhalla Tonight.” Greebo was a mighty warrior cat who fought off feral toms when he was just a kitten; amputated a fox’s tail on one occasion; and chased off a fugitive that the cops were pursuing. “I heard a war cry from Greebo, and a scream, and a guy ran out the backdoor, with Greebo on his head, yowling and tearing him up. The neighbors said, he just ran in the middle of the street, and gave himself up. Greebo came back, strutting, and we fed him well that night.”
The rest of Greebo’s saga is here: https://accordingtohoyt.com/2020/07/20/theyre-serving-tuna-in-valhalla-tonight/
Be prepared to find something in your eye.
If not to be with those we loved, human or animal, what’s a Heaven for?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(The_Twilight_Zone)
You’ve made me think of the few dogs I’ve had the pleasure to be master to. Chipper, Thor, Pepperpot, Large Marge… I’m sure there will be more.
You also reminded me of a poem I think I read here, ‘The House Dog’s Grave’. It ends with:
You were never masters, but friends.
I was your friend.?I loved you well, and was loved.
Deep love endures
To the end and far past the end.
If this is my end,?I am not lonely.
I am not afraid. I am still yours.