Since losing my little dog, Star,
my attempts to depict
her dear and funny figure on a pot
have been futile.
Finally facing a particularly challenging bowl
in a particularly challenging time,
she came to help.
She came as she had always done,
as comforter
and gentle prodder when her human needed prodding.
As in the days of her bright living,
her sweet presence came.
I only needed
to wake up and live…
to let the spirit move
on earth as it does in heaven.
I carried on with faith that carrying on
would get me somewhere.
Whatever gift or capability I had
would see me through the task
however arduous it proved to be.
My little angel’s plumey tail wagged happily
when I thought “beach” and drew a spiraling sun.
Pelicans and drifting clouds were fine.
Small waves and several “stars” were also good.
Star’s sensitive nose tipped upward in approval
at salt-scented air.
Pearl thought she smelled a dog
when I brought the finished pot home
and placed it on the floor for her approval.
My own approval…
or acceptance…
was slow to come:
The glazes were not bright enough, etcetera.
But apparently, my little dog angel
was still whispering possibilities,
and what I heard
as clear as clear can be
was “BEACH”.
Take Music to the beach…
and take that blessed bowl.
Take that infernal camera, too.
Have “FUN”!
We did have fun,
Music doing doggy things,
and me with my little camera
playing with my beach bowl on the beach.
My mind grew quiet.
My heart was softened by salt-scented air.
And back at home,
I brushed the sand off of the beautiful pot…
and placed her in the showroom….
…where on that very morning
a woman recently bereft of her dog
purchased “Visit From My Angel” as a memorial
to take back home to Michigan.
Sigh…
A Dance of Balance 
