Almost Heaven

Rolling off the couch

Between cushion and coffee table

My parents' blue toned Oriental rug 

Underneath me

Wrapped in a lush blanket

I stay there, curled up

Head down, so very 

Comfortable

Like a bunny (or a fetus)

Wrapped up in fur inside

A den of soil and bugs

Mycelial network and roots

Earthworms and such

I lie there quietly, silently

Relaxing, resting for a long time

Darkness inside the blanket

Cuddled up in softness

(or amniotic fluids)

Perfectly content

Like a bunny, I revel

In the light, sun and clover

Grasses and meadows

Urban yards and drainage pipe

Ditches under driveways

Nibbling my way through the 

Day, lunging only when startled

Surprised or having a premonition

Of being attacked by some 

Wild animal, or domestic dog

A loud disturbing sound

Like a lawnmower, leaf blower

A child squealing

At night, I return to my burrowed 

Dirt-filled den, dark and safe

Safe, tender, utter peace

After each night of being

Held by the spirits in my den 

(Or in my mother’s womb)

I awake to greet the day

With joy and excitement

Of the coming light

The bright sun and dark rain

The gentle winds and snow

(the hailstorms, not so much)

And friends: the birds

Chipmunks, squirrels, snakes

But not the cats

Or hawks who want to eat me

Almost heaven