Lion Sleeping. Antoine-Louis Barye (French, Paris 1796–1875 Paris). 1810–75. Watercolor on wove paper, lined sheet: 9 3/16 x 11 5/8 in. (23.3 x 29.5cm). Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art open access.
Animal Time
Present in the presence of self,
here-now. Breathe in, out.
Supine rest. Head on paws
Dirt bed. Desert vista.
Wind prickles fur.
A warm spot, here and here.
Sun pokes through clouds like stick
through foliage-dense forest.
Stop. Listen. Change here
happens imperceptibly
so we think nothing
substantial has shifted.
While inside, cells alter
configuration, transform,
mutate, renew. One
grain of sand falls
through choked-neck
hourglass. Second to second,
an animal observes. Minute
to minute, responds. Hour
after hour, acts, rests.
This is time for them.
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