When on our midnight walk
\nAlong a path overlooking
\nThe Valley of the Cross
\nMy granddaughter Bouli
\nSuddenly sits
\nAnd with ears flattened
\nWhite fur ruffled
\nVisage mournful
\nSilently stares
\nAcross the hushed highway
\nAt the ancient monastery,
\nBecause she’s such a kind
\nAngelic soul
\nMy imagination starts to soar.<\/p>\n
Was she perhaps in a previous life
\nOne of the women
\nWho wept at the foot
\nOf the Cross,
\nBelieved by Helena
\nMother of Constantine
\nTo have come from a tree
\nIn this very wadi?<\/p>\n
Or likewise in a former
\nIncarnation as a beautiful
\nPassionate maiden
\nWas she forsaken
\nBy her handsome sweetheart
\nWho, possessed by the Holy Spirit,
\nBecame a celibate monk?<\/p>\n
Then again,
\nMight she have been
\nThe faithful pet
\nOf Shota Roust’haveli \u2013
\nThe iconic Georgian bard
\nBuried in the heart
\nOf this place of pilgrimage?
\nLike people, dogs will grieve
\nAt their beloved’s grave
\nAnd even pine away.<\/p>\n
Or, to return to the present,
\nIs our empathic Bouli \u2013
\nWho’s apparently at peace
\nWith her own celibate,
\nSpayed state \u2013
\nSimply expressing compassion
\nFor the secluded dog
\nI once heard howling
\nThrough an open window
\nOf this stone fortress
\nIn the Valley of the Cross?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jerusalem
\n11 December 2017<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When on our midnight walk Along a path overlooking The Valley of the Cross My granddaughter Bouli Suddenly sits And with ears flattened White fur ruffled Visage mournful Silently stares Across the hushed highway At the ancient monastery, Because she’s such a kind Angelic soul My imagination starts to soar. Was she perhaps in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,15,45,17,30,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1983,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions\/1983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelpeach.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}